Cushman & Wakefield Oversees Trade of 194-Acre Whippany Campus
Former Alcatel-Lucent Property Slated for Benchmark Mixed-Use Redevelopment.
- Newark, NJ (1888PressRelease) February 18, 2011 - Eastern Morris County's largest redevelopment parcel has traded hands, paving the way for one of New Jersey's most significant mixed-use infill revitalization projects, announced commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. A partnership of Vision Equities and Rubenstein Partners purchased the 194-acre campus from Alcatel-Lucent for an undisclosed sale price, although it recently was assessed by Hanover Township for in excess of $42 million.
David Bernhaut and Robert Donnelly, Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield's Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group in East Rutherford, N.J., and corporate account specialist Robert Donnelly based in the firm's Morristown, N.J., office, represented the seller and procured the buyer in this noteworthy sale.
Located just off Route 10 at 67 Whippany Road, the former corporate campus for Alcatel-Lucent includes 15 vacant office, laboratory and support buildings totaling more than 1.4 million square feet. Alcatel-Lucent predecessor companies began operating at the site in the mid 1920s, and it continued to house significant operations until 2001, when Alcatel-Lucent relocated 2,100 employees to its North American headquarters in Murray Hill.
The new ownership plans to redevelop the campus into a modern, mixed-use campus including Class A office, residential, retail, hospitality, senior living and additional common/green space as part of the overall redevelopment. Although much of the site improvements were designed for the previous corporate user, the two office and lab buildings, totaling approximately 500,000 square feet, are being considered for renovation and reuse.
"This property is one of the last large-scale, mixed-use redevelopment sites left within the Route 10, Route 24 and I-280 submarkets, and is one of the biggest redevelopment sites remaining in Northern New Jersey," Bernhaut noted. "It benefits from its proximity to the area's premier retail corridor, major roadways, nearby corporate headquarters and office parks; existing site infrastructure/utilities; and a township seeking to maintain a strong ratable base."
"This project will have a tremendous economic impact for the town and surrounding community," Robert Donnelly noted. "It will revitalize a property that for so long has been a major contributor in terms of tax dollars. It will renovate and introduce new Class A corporate space while actually reducing office supply in a market that is struggling with high vacancies. The residential and retail components establish a balanced, vital community. We anticipate that this will serve as a prototype for future redevelopment in the state."
The Whippany campus is located in a New Jersey-designated metropolitan planning area, which means that it is within a target growth area on the state's development plan.
The Donnelly team handles local, national and global portfolio assignments for a client base dominated by Fortune 500 corporations. Robert Donnelly has served as account executive for AT&T since 1993, and Lucent Technologies since 1996, when it was spun off from AT&T. Lucent merged with Alcatel SA in 2006 to become Alcatel-Lucent, Inc.
Cushman & Wakefield's Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group specializes exclusively in investment sales of office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties throughout New Jersey, New York, Fairfield County, Conn., and Pennsylvania. The team has completed more than $14.5 billion worth of transactions since 2000.
###
space
space
Satisfied Users & 
Approved Press Releases
Print
Email
Report Spam