Frank M. Leo Building, 2 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ
Take a drive past the Frank M. Leo Building in Bloomfield, N.J. – located on the corner of Broad Street and Bloomfield Avenue, right in the heart of downtown – and you may be captured by the iconic architectural configuration.
The historic Leo Building, erected by and named after New Jersey real estate developer Frank M. Leo, closely resembles the famous Flatiron building in New York City and the Bulfinch Hotel building in Boston with its unconventional triangular, wedge-like shape.
Flatiron Building, 5th Ave, New York, NY
“The lots that determine the Flatiron shape have previously been avoided since the resultant interiors are unusual and not easy to market,” Patrice Derrington, director of the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University, told the New York Times* in an email in April. “However, ‘as needs be’ developers are attending to these less favorable sites, as they eke out every last possibility.”
The shape of the Leo Building, and those like it, are innovatively designed to fit within odd shaped land plots in tight urban landscapes. Indeed, there’s a brand new three-sided building going up right here in Morristown, N.J. The triangular piece of property, located at the intersection of Bank and Market Streets, was purchased by the law firm Fox Rothschild LLP last year as they searched for a spot to house their offices in the heart of Morristown. The Hampshire Cos. and Turner Construction are working to complete the 42,000-square-foot, five-story project by early next year. Click here to read more about the Fox Rothschild building in Morristown, NJ.
Rendering of Fox Rothschild building in Morristown, NJ. (Courtesy Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects)
Back in 2012, Bloomfield College targeted the Leo Building as a space to house classrooms, faculty and student lounges and administrative offices and signed a five-year lease on the property. Now occupied in part by the college’s International Training, Professional Studies and Computer Information Sciences programs, the Leo Building is also home to a number of small businesses, including a driving school and a law firm, as well as the Bloomfield Vet Center and PNC Bank. Fittingly enough, prior to his passing in 2007, Mr. Leo served for 25 years on the Advisory Board of National Newark & Essex Bank, which is now PNC Bank.
Best wishes,
Karen-