RPM Development Group

RPM Development wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope everyone has a healthy and safe holiday.? #RPMDev #Thanksgiving?

RPM held an event at Supercharged Entertainment NJ for all of our superintendents throughout the state to come together for a fun-filled day of appreciation! We kicked things off with?talking shop?with our Facility Managers, focusing on providing insight about managing our time while going through our daily tasks and getting prepared for the Snow! After a delicious lunch, we dove into the excitement of indoor go-cart races at the world’s largest indoor multi-level track! It was a fantastic day filled with great company and lots of laughs.

RPM Development wishes a happy and healthy Rosh Hashanah to all those who celebrate!? #RPMDev #RoshHashanah

Today, RPM Development pauses to remember all those who lost their lives on September 11 and support our community members as they honor their lost loved ones.?

The Forum at Madison, currently under construction, is RPM’s newest Passive House Institute US (“PHIUS”) development. Often times we are asked what makes PHIUS development unique? And what drives additional front end costs? Passive House development require a tremendous amount of detailed work during construction to ensure that the buildings meet the exacting energy efficient standards set forth by the Passive House Institute US.? ? Building energy efficiency starts from the ground.?In more traditional construction typologies,?concrete footings can act as a conduit between the soil temperature and the interior of buildings, but the application of insulation breaks that pathway. The first step to creating a PHIUS building is energy modeling – taking the PHIUS standards and creating a building that can exceed their requirements from the bottom up. Energy modeling by MaGrann Associates indicated to our architect, Inglese Architecture & Engineering, that we would need to provide 4’’ of exterior insulation and a vapor barrier around the entire foundation system. At the Forum, Inglese employed a shallow foundation system with the measures noted above to ensure the PHIUS goal of a tight building envelope could be met, while also reducing the amount of complexity our subcontractors needed to tackle in the field. ? Each building type is unique – our last PHIUS building in Westville was a large, double loaded corridor building, but the Forum is designed as townhouses. The large structure required us to spend more time and money be focused on the building’s interior – specifically on selecting building systems such as heating and cooling. The Forum requires a different intensive focus on the building exterior – from foundation to walls and roof. Additional insulation, specific materials, and detailed application of all systems guarantee that we will be able to create an extremely tight, controlled building envelope – simultaneously ensuring the energy efficiency of the structure and indoor air quality for residents. ? A special thank you to the team at Inglese Architecture + Engineering for their partnership in all things passive house, including this post.

Our newest development in Maple Shade Township (Burlington County NJ) will add to our growing South Jersey presence by transforming a previously developed, contaminated site, into senior housing units. Environmental remediation has just concluded and the project is currently being bid in anticipation of our construction financing closing this fall. This brand new mixed-use building will add four new commercial spaces to the main street of Maple Shade and housing for sixty new households including units set aside for residents with special needs.

RPM’s Social Services team has been hard at work all over our portfolio this summer. From ice cream socials to bingo, cook outs to health screenings, and carnivals to informational events – the Summer calendars have been full of activities for everyone. We are so grateful to our team of coordinators including StacyAnn, Lauren, Amanda, Nina, Vanessa, Joushlyn, and Linet for their hard work and creativity. To kick off the fall season we have back-to-school events, more learning, fitness, and socials on the calendar – although we aren’t ready for the end of summer and cold weather, I know that our Social Services team has some fun up their sleeves.

Somerset Square is accepting applications now! Don’t miss this chance to get 3 weeks free if moved in by September 1st and 2 weeks free if moved in by September 15. With your choice between gorgeous townhouses and spacious apartments and a central location in beautiful Somerset, this is the perfect time to join the community. Apply today with the onsite property team at [email protected]

RPM has worked in Newark for more than thirty years in all types of housing products and loves seeing the city’s evolution. Although the majority of our work has been larger scale multifamily housing, we had the opportunity to do something unique in 2014. After decades of neglect, 527 Mt. Prospect Avenue in Newark needed a top-to-tail rescue – and we had the chance to step in to give this historic mansion a new life. ? Through a partnership with Life Management, RPM Development set to work to transform this long vacant home into seven apartments for residents in Newark’s North Ward. The property, a contributing structure in the Forest Hill Historic District of Newark, was restored under the practiced eye of Ulana Zakalak (Zakalak Restoration Arts) with special attention paid to the woodwork, windows, interior circulation pattern, and exterior fa?ade.? ? Just five blocks from Branch Brook Park and with Manhattan skyline views, this is one of our favorite lesser known stories and highlights our ability to be creative and resourceful in our pursuit to bring more sustainable housing to the Garden State.

Earlier this Summer RPM Contracting completed a reorganization of our key senior staff. We now have two Project Executives –William Sherwood and Frederick Werner– who are responsible for overseeing properties in the northern and southern sections of the State respectively. Joel Wallace was promoted to Director of Pre-Construction – taking the lead on all early coordination with the development team, estimating, and permit readiness for projects. Amber Delaney was promoted to the Director of Construction Operations and will oversee all ongoing operations including financial tracking and interdepartmental coordination. Our new senior staff team will be supported by old and new faces across our projects. With twelve jobs slated to be under construction in the next twelve months and more in the pipeline, we are scheduled to bring almost 1,000 new units to communities across New Jersey before the end of 2026. This is an exciting time of growth at RPM Contracting and we are excited to see our new team in action.