Meridian Capital Group arranges $200M financing for Holmdel’s Bell Works

Meridian Capital Group said Tuesday it arranged $200 million to refinance Bell Works, the historic Bell Labs scientific research center in Holmdel that was redeveloped into a class-A office campus.

The financing loan, provided by a balance sheet lender, was negotiated by Meridian Senior Managing Director Drew Anderman, Senior Vice President Josh Berman and Vice President Eli Serebrowski, who are all based at the company’s New York City headquarters.

The former research and development facility for Bell Labs and Alcatel Lucent spans 1.4 million leasable square feet across 236 acres and features more than 4,000 parking spaces. Its comprised of four separate six-story buildings connected via open space walkways and a grand pavilion. The ground floor, known as The Block, is lined with shops and restaurants for building tenants and the neighboring community.

“Having bought the property vacant only four years ago, the sponsorship had a vision that no one else saw—the concept of the ‘Metroburb,’ an urban oasis in a suburban setting. In an incredibly short period, sponsorship leased nearly 1.4 million square feet of office and retail space,” said Anderman. “Today, with Bell Works nearly 100 percent leased, this refinance allows the sponsorship to finish building-wide capital improvements, fund tenant improvements and leasing commissions, and pay off their existing debt.”

Located at 101 Crawford’s Corner Road, Bell Works was designed by Eero Saarinen and has become one of the country’s most architecturally significant office buildings, serving as the site of some of the 20th century’s greatest technological advancements. Today it accommodates some of the area’s largest technology tenants, including iCIMS and WorkWave, as well as other credit tenants such as Guardian Life Insurance and Jersey Central Power & Light.