Whippany Campus Redux

Bayer HealthCare

On May 1, 2014

When Vision Equities, LLC and Rubenstein Partners purchased the 194-acre former Alcatel-Lucent campus on Whippany Road in 2010, the partnership recognized the property’s potential to serve as a “smart growth” infill revitalization project that would re-use prime land vacated by prior development.

The October 16, 2013 ribbon cutting for Bayer Pharmaceuticals’ new East Coast Headquarters realized the partnership’s vision to redevelop the site into a modern, sustainable, mixed-use community.

When purchased, the campus included 1.4 million square feet in 15 vacant office, laboratory and support buildings that housed Bell Laboratories from the mid-1920s to 2009, when Alcatel-Lucent relocated the site’s 2,100 employees to Murray Hill. In May 2012, the partnership subdivided and sold 95 acres to Bayer Healthcare and began developing a 675,000-square-foot, build-to-suit facility for this global pharmaceutical industry leader and long-time New Jersey corporate citizen.

Here, Bayer consolidated four New Jersey and New York locations and retained 2,500 New Jersey jobs, supporting the state’s dominance as a pharma industry hub. In addition to introducing desirable Class A corporate space to the marketplace, the project is promoting residential, retail, hospitality and, potentially, additional office components on the adjacent 94-acres.

Development of the project emphasized commitments to sustainability and reuse. Two of the 15 original structures were considered suitable for redevelopment and were incorporated into the new building design. The entire project was designed to LEED Gold “green building” standards. More than 90 percent of the existing ceiling tiles were recycled, remanufactured and utilized throughout the new building. The project also preserved more than 45 acres of vital wetlands and mature forests.

The $300-million Bayer HealthCare Headquarters also was welcomed for its ongoing economic benefits. In addition to the retention of corporate jobs and the generation of new employment through additional development, this campus historically was Whippany’s largest tax ratable; Bayer has now assumed that distinction. The project also generated 450 construction jobs.

ARCHITECTS
Gensler
Morristown

KA, Architecture
Cleveland, OH

BUILDER
Vision Equities, LLC
Mountain Lakes

FINANCE ENTITY
67 Whippany Investors, LLC
(Vision Equities and Rubenstein Partners)
Mountain Lakes

NOMINATOR
Hon. Ronald F. Francioli, Mayor
Township of Hanover

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