Bedminster office building signs 4 new leases

All four companies had relocated from other office facilities within a five- to seven-mile radius of the 161,632-square-foot Class A office building.Four companies have recently moved or will soon relocate to Bedminster One, a 161,632-square-foot Class A office building in Bedminster, according to FirstService Williams New Jersey, the building’s leasing agent.

During the first quarter, the commercial real estate services firm, formerly known as GVA Williams, signed a six-year, 7,885-square-foot lease with Symyx Technologies Inc.; a five-year, 6,350-square-foot lease with IT services company HCL America Inc.; a seven-year, 5,191-square-foot lease with Jamison Eaton & Wood, an investment management firm; and a five-year, 4,651-square-foot lease with Associated Life Brokerage, a financial services firm.

All four companies had relocated from other office facilities within a five- to seven-mile radius of Bedminster One, said Jamie Drummond, FirstService Williams New Jersey managing director, who represented the landlord, Bridgewater-based SK Properties. Jamison, which signed its lease about two weeks ago, will move into its new space in August, while the remaining three companies have already moved or will relocate by the end of this month, he said.

“Our concession packages were certainly competitive with the market,” Drummond said. Rental rates at Bedminster One are $24.75 a square foot, compared to rates “in the high 20s” for other Class A office properties in the area, he said. This summer, the building will begin a major capital improvement program, “which seemed to entice a lot of these folks.” Improvements will include renovations to the building’s lobby, atrium, bathrooms and common areas.

The four new tenants will occupy about one-third of the 86,000 square feet of space that was vacated by Verizon Wireless, which left in December 2008 as a result of consolidations, said Drummond, who is in talks with several large users about leasing space in the building. Bedminster One currently is 56 percent vacant, he said.