Valley Bank breaks ground on new HQ in Morristown

With demolition of a block of vacant buildings complete, Valley Bank held a groundbreaking ceremony June 9 for its new headquarters in Morristown.

Local officials and executives of developers SJP Properties and Scotto Properties joined Valley CEO Ira Robbins to formally kick off construction, which is scheduled for completion in March 2023.

Valley chose Morristown because “it fit with our culture,” Robbins told NJBIZ before the ceremony. He said the bank had considered more than 20 locations and “could have gone to Jersey City or Newark, but that’s not where we were.” Valley is currently based in Wayne.

Morristown Mayor Timothy Dougherty welcomed the new addition to the city. “It is crucially important to Morristown’s future that we invest in our downtown,” Dougherty said. “And investments like Valley are second to none.”

The building site is directly across Speedwell Avenue from the Hyatt Regency Morristown hotel and Headquarters Plaza office complex. The Hyatt itself recently completed a major renovation project. Next door, the Class A office building 1776 on the Green has also been upgraded, work that included the addition of a David Burke restaurant and a TopGolf outlet.

Valley’s new building will offer approximately 120,000 square feet of office space with abundant natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows that also provide skyline views, according to SJP. The structure will be designed for a modern workforce and to achieve LEED certification. SJP said it worked with global architecture firm Gensler to envision Valleys headquarters, which is a modern interpretation of historic Morristown’s tradition of masonry.

The bank will bring about 660 staff members to its new quarters, which will feature operable glass walls opening to three outdoor terraces and bring the outside into the workplace. On the ground floor, a lobby with “soaring” ceilings — and 14,500 square feet of retail space, a portion of which will host a Valley retail banking branch — will welcome visitors.