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The basics:

• SJP Properties starts work on Nokia Bell Labs HQ at HELIX NJ
• 10-story, 370,000-square-foot tower set to deliver by late 2027
• Project part of DEVCO-led innovation hub across from NJ Transit

Things are getting busier in New Brunswick. On the heels of the state’s first cancer hospital opening its doors in town – and ahead of the impending debut of the HELIX NJ’s first phase – construction is now also underway on Nokia Bell Labs’ new headquarters.

At the start of July, SJP Properties announced beginning work on the 10-story, 370,000-square-foot Bell Labs base at the site of H-2. The tower is the second to rise as part of the 4-acre HELIX NJ Innovation District. Master planned by New Brunswick Development Corp. (DEVCO), the project sits directly across from the New Brunswick train station (which will also receive significant upgrades).

It’s also the latest in a string of high-profile headquarters SJP has handled in New Jersey.

The Health & Life Science Exchange – or HELIX NJ – innovation district will comprise three buildings. As one of the state’s Strategic Innovation Districts, the 1.5 million-square-foot HELIX will include three buildings downtown.

The soon-to-debut H-1 will house the New Jersey Innovation Hub, Rutgers Translational Research, the Rutgers School of Medicine as well as plug-and-play lab space. Meanwhile, down the line H-3 plans include office space, Rutgers School of Engineering’s WINLAB, prebuilt wet and dry lab space, purpose built housing for 98 Rutgers School of Medicine students, as well as 265 market rate and affordable residential units.

Situated directly across from H-1, HELIX’s second tower will serve as a launchpad for accelerating next-generation networks, advanced AI and software systems, industrial automation, and quantum and optical research, SJP said. Delivery is expected in late 2027.

The property will feature highly efficient side core floor plates and varying slab-to-slab heights on certain floors to accommodate experimentation, according to the company.

All aboard

The New Brunswick train station will get a $49 million upgrade soon, with modernization and expansion work scheduled to start this spring. The depot offers NJ Transit and Amtrak/Acela service.

Nokia Bells Labs executed a long-term lease for the entirety of H-2 in 2023. The company will relocate from its longtime headquarters in Murray Hill.

In March, the state cleared the project for $103 million in Aspire tax credits.

Beyond DEVCO and SJP, the multiparty team behind the Nokia Bells Labs HQ development includes:

• Financial partner Morgan Stanley development
• PNC Bank construction lender
• JLL landlord representation team – Dan Loughlin, Blake Goodman, Dan Spero, Jason Benson, Peter Ladas
• Colliers tenant representation team – Sam Horowitz, Chris Hovanec, Ray Iodice
• Newmark equity partner representation team – Adam Spies, Chris Kramer

“The start of construction on the new Nokia Bell Labs Headquarters at HELIX NJ marks a defining moment in New Brunswick’s ongoing evolution as a premier hub for research, innovation, and economic vitality,” said New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill. “This development reflects our City’s strong partnerships with industry leaders like Nokia, SJP Properties, and DEVCO, and underscores our commitment to fostering opportunities that create jobs, attract world-class talent, and enhance the quality of life for all who live, work, and study here.”

Sign of the times

For SJP the work continues a string of relocations by major companies from suburban areas to walkable, transit-oriented destinations.

At 111 River St. in Hoboken, within SJP’s Waterfront Corporate Center, Unilever opened its 111,000-square-foot U.S. headquarters in June. The space includes a custom buildout by SJP Project Solutions.

Meanwhile, Sanofi traded its bucolic Bridgewater setting for a new space at M Station West in Morristown. That 260,000-square-foot development from SJP opened in May.

SJP notes each property is distinguished by technological infrastructure to enhance productivity and provides an inviting aesthetic. The combination of comfort, class and customization responds to current employee needs and desires and offers an edge for recruiting and retaining new talent.

“It is a duty as a real estate developer to ensure that the communities where we build not only stay strong but have the opportunity to grow stronger by developing future-proof workplaces that empower enterprises such as Nokia Bell Labs to remain at the leading edge of innovation,” said SJP founder and CEO Steven Pozycki.

“Creating, with our partners, commercial destinations of global significance that bring thousands of professionals together in the most accessible and desirable of municipalities enables local economies to thrive and reinforces New Jersey’s worldwide reputation for scientific discovery,” Pozycki continued. “We are confident with Nokia Bell Labs at its center, HELIX NJ will emerge as the dominant east coast research and development district.”