A crowd of dignitaries, trade union members and future occupants gathered for a “Topping Off’ ceremony on September 10th in New Brunswick as the final structural steel beam was set on H-1, the first of three state-of-the-art buildings in the HELIX NJ project. The 12-story, 574,000-square-foot building will house the New Jersey Innovation Hub, the new Rutgers School of Medicine and Rutgers Translational Research.
The ceremony marked a significant milestone for the $732 million H-1 project as the new facility moves closer to a projected 2025 opening. Many of those in attendance placed their signatures on the I-beam before it was placed atop the new building. HELIX NJ will serve as the centerpiece of a booming innovation district blocks from the Rutgers College Avenue campus.
The event was hosted by New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) and President Christopher Paladino who remarked, “Since the first column was set in place on February 5, 2024, workers have assembled 5,136 tons of steel and poured 10,537 square yards of concrete. Today it is time to put the final steel beam in place.” He further noted that H-1 project “is a major aspect of the Governor’s strategy to foster the growth of the innovation economy.”
Others attending the ceremony included Jim Cahill, Mayor of the City of New Brunswick; Amy Towers, Chairperson of Rutgers Board of Governors; Dr. Amy Murtha, Dean of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Tim Sullivan, CEO of NJ Economic Development Authority; and Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios.
Work on the interior of the building is underway and work on the exterior panels will start later in September. H-2, which will be home to Nokia Bell Labs, is swiftly heading through the design and planning stage and is scheduled to open in 2028.
New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill captured the essence of the project, “H-1 is not just a building and HELIX NJ is not just a complex. It is a statement about the future of the state of New Jersey, Middlesex County, and the city of New Brunswick. It is a future that is bright, prosperous, and full of promise. As we place this final beam, let it serve as a reminder of the heights we can reach when we aim high.”
