Mancini Duffy commits to North Jersey with lease extension

National architecture and design firm Mancini Duffy is staying in Millburn.

This week, the New York City-based company announced it signed a seven-year lease extension for its office at 374 Millburn Ave. in the Essex County municipality.

According to Mancini Duffy, the move underscores its commitment to “delivering innovative design solutions in the Northern New Jersey area.”

“We’ve seen an opportunity to engage in cutting-edge projects in Northern New Jersey,” Principal and Aviation Practice Director John Anthal, who leads the Millburn office, said in a statement. The space “has its own unique culture and local presence while maintaining the creativity and ingenuity Mancini is synonymous with,” he added. “Building such an energetic and collaborative team over the past several years has been extremely exciting, and that enthusiasm is reflected in our relationships with our clients.”

A nearly 10-year veteran of the firm, Anthal’s Garden State clients have included Bell Works and multiple airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Located in the city’s Business District at the historic Schoolhouse Plaza, Mancini Duffy said its North Jersey regional office caters to core and growing sectors for the firm, including: corporate, aviation, multifamily, hospitality, health care and life sciences. Since it launched at the space in 2017, clients have included Mars Wrigley, Sax LLP and Energy Capital Partners.

The lease extension was brokered by JLL.

The Millburn space will be renovated to accommodate growing staff numbers (across its footprint it boasts more than 100 employees), according to the firm, and to add its signature Design Lab. Here, sessions are conducted in a virtual space using Mancini’s patent-pending software, The Toolbelt. The lab will also offer an immersive hub for clients to use the tech in a local, in-person and collaborative environment, according to the firm.

“We are heavily rooted in New Jersey, and as we all know, the various regions of this state take pride in their differences,” said CEO William Mandara Jr., a lifelong Paramus resident. “John Anthal and the Millburn office have a solid reputation after five years of designing award-winning projects. We are excited about the future as we continue to expand both our team and clientele.”

In 2021, Mancini Duffy expanded its presence in the central part of the state, launching its second New Jersey office in Red Bank.

Mandara and President Christian Giordano, who celebrates a decade with the firm this fall, took over ownership of Mancini Duffy in 2014. Since then, and together with their partners, they have invested in an extensive R&D program focused on taking a proactive approach and inventing new technologies (see: The Toolbelt, above) to revolutionize the design process.

“We know the challenges clients face in the New Jersey market,” Giordano said. “Not only does our approach have a track record of changing how clients engage throughout the design process, but the depth of our local knowledge has been vital to our success in the project’s outcome,” said Giordano.

Some of the other companies the firm has worked with in N.J. include, Rutgers University, The Fidelco Group, Valley National Bank, KMPG and Guardian Life Insurance.