The Riverbend District is an 80-acre redevelopment initiative in Harrison, NJ.

Riverbend District

Riverbend (above) will feature 15 million sq. ft. of a wide variety of retail space, residential units, hotels, corporate offices, movie theaters, multiple restaurants and cafes, wellness center, health club, supermarkets, on-site PATH station and the news 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena.

Harrison Redevelopment

Portions of Harrison are currently undergoing transit-oriented redevelopment under a plan developed by the community planning and design firm, Heyer, Gruel & Associates LLC and adopted by the Harrison Redevelopment Agency.

With the construction of new high school athletic facilities, the Harrison Board of Education sold the former John F. Kennedy Stadium to the Roseland Property Co./Millennium Homes development group, where currently new townhouses are being built.

The Hampton Inn and Suites Newark/Harrison Riverwalk Hotel opened on December 31, 2004 across from Newark along the Passaic River. The area stretching from the PATH train station south to the Harrison/Newark border has been designated as a redevelopment zone (275 acres, or about 35% of the town).

Plans are now underway to transform the aforementioned area of the town from deindustrialized, abandoned factories into a transit village containing high-rise office complexes and street-level retail. The current design will introduce seven- to nine-thousand new housing units. Redevelopment groups participating in these projects have separated the designated site into two zones - Harrison Commons and the Riverbend District.

The Harrison Commons initiative, led by companies the Pegasus Group, LLC and Applied Development, extends from the south side of the I-280 overpass towards the north side of the PATH station and will feature building designs depicting "modern 19th century architecture," headed by Minno & Wasko Architects, as well as Torti Gallas and Partners. The Advance Realty Group, along with Red Bull GmbH, oversees the Riverbend site, consisting of the area stretching from the south side of the PATH station to the Passaic River.

Red Bull Arena

After years of delays, Red Bull and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) announced in 2006 that Red Bull Arena will be the new home of the Major League Soccer team, Red Bull New York. The new stadium is part of the large redevelopment plan for Harrison. The soccer-specific-stadium stadium opened its doors in March of 2010 and has a capacity for 25,000 fans. In addition to soccer, Red Bull Arena will be able to host games for professional men's lacrosse, international rugby teams, and football, as well as championship matches on the collegiate and secondary school levels.