At the H-2 site of HELIX NJ in New Brunswick, SJP Properties has begun construction on the 370,000-square-foot Nokia Bell Labs Headquarters. As part of the 4-acre HELIX NJ Innovation District, the 10-story building will be one of the most advanced electronics labs in North America.
While H-2 rises, the nearby New Brunswick train station will undergo a major modernization project paid for with $50 million from the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund, in alignment with New Brunswick’s transformation agenda.
Several different players have come together with SJP to make the Nokia Bell Labs Headquarters possible. DEVCO (New Brunswick Development Corporation) is the HELIX Master Developer. Morgan Stanley is the financial partner on the development side while PNC Bank is the construction lender. Dan Loughlin, Blake Goodman, Dan Spero, Jason Benson, Peter Ladas from JLL are providing representation for the landlord and Sam Horowitz, Chris Hovanec, Ray Iodice of Colliers are working on behalf of the tenants. Adam Spies, Chris Kramer of Newmark support the equity partners.
“It is a duty as a real estate developer to ensure that the communities where we build not only stay strong but have the opportunity to grow stronger by developing future-proof workplaces that empower enterprises such as Nokia Bell Labs to remain at the leading edge of innovation,” commented Steven J. Pozycki, Founder & CEO, SJP Properties.
HELIX NJ has been developed as a sustainable ecosystem that allows industry and academia to work side by side. As part of HELIX Phase 2, the Nokia Bell Labs’ H-2 building is located across from the H-1, home to the New Jersey Innovation HUB, Rutgers Translational Research, the Rutgers School of Medicine, currently under construction and nearby the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center at the Rutgers Cancer Institute. Both of the latter projects were also developed by DEVCO.
“The addition of Nokia Bell Labs to the HELIX ecosystem is another step in creating a place that will foster innovation, discovery, and commercialization,” added Chris Paladino, President of DEVCO. “By putting brilliant people together in one place, we will change lives with the work that will be done here.”
The H-2 property will serve as a launchpad for acceleration in next-generation networks, advanced AI and software systems, industrial automation, and quantum and optical research. Nokia Bell Labs executed a long-term lease for the entire H-2 building in 2023 and the property was awarded a $103-million New Jersey Economic Development Authority Aspire tax incentive package earlier this year. SJP will deliver the completed building in late 2027.
“The start of construction on the new Nokia Bell Labs Headquarters at HELIX NJ marks a defining moment in New Brunswick’s ongoing evolution as a premier hub for research, innovation, and economic vitality,” said New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill.
