On the heels of securing CoreWeave as an occupant at the emergent Northeast Science and Technology Center, another high-profile tenant is joining the mix at NEST: cosmetics and personal care company Revlon.

Currently based in Edison, Revlon will move its science and innovation lab to the NEST campus in Kenilworth, according to a Nov. 19 announcement.

Situated on more than 100 acres, the former Merck headquarters was acquired in 2023 by Onyx Equities LLC and Machine Investment Group with the goal of establishing a life sciences and tech hub. The latest leases at the more than 2 million-square-foot property underscore NEST’s progress on that path.

Revlon will centralize its labs, pilot manufacturing and office functions in a 62,000-square-foot space at the 1.2 million-square-foot 15 NEST building. Until recently, the space served as Merck’s global research headquarters.

Revlon is the first tenant to occupy the space since Merck’s exit to Rahway earlier this year. Speaking with NJBIZ earlier in 2024, Outshine Properties Managing Principal and founder Jonathan Scheinberg highlighted the unique nature of available space at NEST.

Merck’s massive custom space “literally spared no expense in costs for them to build this campus.” Therefore, he explained NEST offers space unavailable elsewhere.

Because it’s “completely uneconomical to replicate anywhere,” Scheinberg said at the time. “So, we can offer a product at such a high spec — really a price that is unmatched. You can’t find it because you can’t find this to begin with — big pharmas across the country are not just going around and subleasing their space.”

Commenting on the new lease, Revlon Chief Scientific Officer Lise Jorgensen highlighted the property’s existing lab infrastructure as a selling point. She said the facilities “will help us further amplify our innovation capabilities, and provide a state-of-the-art setting to meet our specific R&D needs.”

Establishing an ecosystem

According to NEST, both Revlon and CoreWeave also highlighted the campus’s location and utility infrastructure as selling points.

Located adjacent to the Garden State Parkway at Exit 138, the campus is 3 miles from downtown Cranford and less than 14 miles from New York City.

“Revlon’s decision to join NEST is an exciting step toward our vision of a dynamic, collaborative, innovation ecosystem,” commented Matthew Flath, senior vice president, asset management, Onyx Equities — who oversees the NEST campus. “With their decades-long legacy in beauty and personal care, Revlon complements the forward-thinking research environment at NEST and is helping to establish a community where leading science and technology companies unite to innovate, thrive, and elevate industry standards.”

According to the announcement, JLL represented the ownership group of Onyx Equities, Machine Investment Group and Pivot Real Estate Partners; Newmark represented Revlon.