The McBride Family found its roots in Paterson, New Jersey. Frank A. McBride, son of an Irish immigrant, started a plumbing business in 1898 at age 22 with initial capital of $175. In 1905 Frank married Alice Nevins, and proceeded to raise a family of four children – Frank V., J. Nevins, Mary and Joseph. Members of Paterson’s St. John’s Parish, the “three boys”, as they were known, attended St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City while Mary attended St. Elizabeth’s High School and College. Frank V. attended Holy Cross and Nevins and Joseph attended Georgetown University. After college Frank and Nevins joined their father’s business, with Joe a naval aviator during WWII following thereafter.
With a growing payroll, the Frank A. McBride Company evolved from residential to public schools and industrial work. In the late 1930’s the company took a major leap forward building aircraft engine production plants for Curtis-Wright in Paterson and Woodridge, NJ and later in Cincinnati, OH.
In the late 1950s, Nevins led the family into real estate development by purchasing 200 acres in Fair Lawn on Rt. 208, and creating one of the first ever planned industrial parks in a suburban environment. Between 1950 and 2000, the McBride’s developed Office and Industrial Parks in Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Oakland, Rockleigh, Totowa, Wayne, Mahwah and Brunswick, Georgia. On all of these projects, McBride Enterprises was the construction manager and the Frank A. McBride Company was the mechanical and electrical contractor. The Frank A. McBride Company grew to become the 15th largest mechanical contractor in the country, involved with such projects as The Gateway Center in Newark, Giants Stadium, many casinos in Atlantic City including the Taj Mahal and The Borgata, the Kennedy Space Center, Newark Airport, Nabisco’s Corporate headquarters and IBM’s Corporate headquarters. Terence McBride is currently the Chairman of the Frank McBride Company, now located in Edison, NJ.
The McBride Family developed one of the first planned communities in New Jersey, the Urban Farms section of Franklin Lakes, with over 1,000 homes and a large recreational facility, the Indian Trail Club.
In 1998 the McBride Family formed a public company and merged many of their real estate properties into the American Real Estate Investment Trust (renamed Keystone Property Trust), a Real Estate Investment Trust. David and Tim McBride became Chairman and Director of the REIT, respectively. The McBrides continue to develop real estate projects in Northern New Jersey, including residential apartments and storage facilities.
The McBride Family has been active in the Archdiocese for three generations. Frank V., Joseph and Nevins McBride were Knights of St. Gregory, as was their father Frank A. McBride. The McBrides were members of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Ridgewood, and later Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Franklin Lakes (“MBS”). The McBride brothers helped plan and build the MBS School, the convent and the Church and Christ the King Cemetery in Franklin Lakes under Archbishop Boland. In addition, the McBride Family has supported many other Catholic institutions, including St. Joseph’s Hospital, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Delbarton, Covenant House and Eva’s Kitchen. The Family donated over 1,000 acres in Franklin Lakes and Wayne to The Nature Conservancy in 1999 to develop a state park, one of the largest land grants in Northern New Jersey
