Somerset Development Announces Office Lease with Leading Life Insurance Provider

On Apr 10, 2017

Somerset Development announced a new lease agreement with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), one of the nation’s largest mutual life insurers and a leading provider of employee benefits, who will occupy 90,000 square feet at Bell Works, the revitalization of the renowned two-million-square-foot Bell Laboratories into the iconic “metroburb” located in Holmdel as of 2018.

Jeff Garibaldi, President, Tara Keating, Vice President, and Kyle Mahoney, Associate Vice President, of The Garibaldi Group – Bell Works’ exclusive office leasing agency – represented Somerset Development in the transaction. Ted Uzelac, President of FISCHER and Guardian’s corporate real estate services partner, represented Guardian in the transaction, with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Executive Managing Director Tim Greiner serving as the local brokerage resource.

“Welcoming Guardian to Bell Works is significant to the building’s breadth of next-level organizations”, said Ralph Zucker, President of Somerset Development. “People are attracted to Bell Works for its ability to foster collaboration across industries and all walks of life. As the Bell Works community continues to grow and thrive, it will be comprised of those who are the best in their craft coming together to create and inspire.”

“A Guardian campus at Bell Works will help us realize our workplace enhancement goals for our employees, enable us to attract talent from the New Jersey technology community and, in turn, better serve our customers,” noted Andrew Schwartzberg, Vice President of Enterprise Shared Services of Guardian.

Guardian joins a tenant roster of established companies, many of which specialize in technology, upholding the legacy of Bell Laboratories as a tech hub of innovation. Recent additions include anchor tenant iCIMS, a leading provider of innovative Software-as-a-service (SaaS) talent acquisition solutions, and a headquarters lease with cloud-based business management and fleet management solutions company WorkWave. Other prominent commercial tenants include: Acacia Communications, a recognized optical transmissions manufacturer; Jersey Central Power and Light; MetTel, a New York City-based telecommunications firm; McCann Systems LLC, a national audiovisual company; NVIDIA Corporation, a publicly traded multi-platform technology firm; Spirent Communications, an international telecommunications firm; Suttons International, a worldwide logistics company; Symbolic IO, a data storage company that recently launched its innovative platform; and vi Collaboration Hub, a co-working space and networking group for technology companies and innovators in the region.

Bell Works’ leasing momentum comes on the heels of its latest plans to house the Holmdel Township Library and Learning Center, which will feature a host of upgrades, including new educational programs and services, as well as updated technological infrastructure and a museum dedicated to preserving the building’s unique history.

Once the home of some of the most monumental technological inventions of the 20th century, Bell Works reimagines the historical building as a workplace of the future. Today, Somerset Development is transforming the building into a mixed-use ‘metroburb,’ complete with offices, retail, dining, healthcare, recreation, and hospitality.

Originally constructed between 1962 and 1964 by world-renowned modernist architect Eero Saarinen, the building is revered for its role in spurring the development of some of the world’s foremost inventions and research concepts. In its 40-plus year history as the research headquarters for Bell Laboratories, Lucent, and Alcatel-Lucent, the building housed a total of seven Nobel Prize winners, who conceived theories for the laser, the Big Bang theory, cellular technology, the transistor, and more.

In addition to the redevelopment of the former Bell Labs facility, Toll Brothers has commenced development of the residential portion of the 472-acre site, which will include 40 single-family homes and 185 age-restricted townhomes.

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