Suburban municipalities throughout the US have been challenged by the departure of major corporations from headquarters space they have occupied for many years. With changing demographics and a consequent change in location preferences, corporations have abandoned their suburban campuses for more urban, mixed-use locations, leaving the municipalities struggling to replace the tax revenues and jobs once generated by these large commercial properties.
After 80 years occupying their 116-acre headquarters site in New Jersey only ten miles from Manhattan, Roche decided to sell and relocate its operations. However, due to their long history in the two municipalities (Nutley and Clifton) and two counties (Essex and Passaic), they felt it was important to ensure the responsible redevelopment and remediation. RESGroup was hired with Perkins Eastman Architects to work with the two municipalities and Roche to create a marketable redevelopment plan that was acceptable to the communities but would also attract a developer. With the pending loss of over $15 million of real estate taxes and over 8,000 jobs from peak levels, the municipalities understood the need to plan to redevelop the property and to reposition it to be both financially feasible and acceptable to residents. Ultimately, RESGroup analyzed three master plan alternatives that would strategically respond to market demand, meet the municipalities’ many concerns (vehicular traffic, an oversupply of retail, and overburdened school districts) while also providing an opportunity to recapture both jobs and tax revenue on this unique and valuable property. Numerous presentations and meetings with the community were organized to obtain their “buy-in” to the selected plan while allowing Roche to still attract developer interest.
RESGroup completed market analyses of R&D, residential, office, retail, industrial, CCRC, and age-restricted housing, and completed a financial analysis to estimate value, taxes and job creation, and worked with the planner to finalize three plans for public review. RESGroup’s contact with market participants led to the identification and commitment for a new medical school and research facility owned by Hackensack Medical Center/Seton Hall (now Meridian) as the anchor tenant to occupy 650,000 square feet of the 1.2 million square feet of existing lab space. As the anchor, the medical school’s commitment contributed substantial value to a potential developer. The property, now owned by Prism, is attracting similar types of private tenants and is developing the balance of the site as a mixed-use development.
