NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—After ten years of free housing as Rutgers University’s President, Richard McCormick has to get a place of his own.
The Newark Star-Ledger reported he would be relocating to a highrise condo in downtown New Brunswick.
McCormick didn’t choose to move into “The Vue,” a mixed-use building with 42 condominiums that he himself broke ground on a few years ago.
Sixty percent of those condos remain unsold, according a June 11 press release from the leasing agent, while 40% of the 150 rental apartments are still available.
Instead, the former President was seen on Monday moving into One Spring Street, a 121-unit building that opened in 2006 and is owned by Boraie Development.
McCormick paid $750,000 for the condominium the same year the building opened, according to property records. Â Over the past two years, units have sold for amounts between $289,000 to $640,000.
On Monday, Rutgers workers were seen unloading a Rutgers Material Services truck full of McCormick’s possessions.
The building’s management apparently deviated from their standard procedures that require those moving in or out to use a service entrance. Â McCormick’s stuff was moved in quickly and directly through the lobby of the 23-story building.
As President, McCormick and his family lived rent-free in the official President’s House in Piscataway. Â McCormick will continue to work at the University, as its highest-paid professor, after taking a one-year paid sabbatical. Â His new salary is $335,000, according to the Ledger.
He made $550,000 annually as the University President. Â His successor, Robert Barchi, will make $650,000, as we reported back in April.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.