Unilever Headquarters, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

OVG, Normandy Real Estate Partners to Redevelop Unilever HQ in New Jersey

by Jaime Lackey

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. — Unilever has chosen a joint venture between OVG Real Estate and Normandy Real Estate Partners to acquire and redevelop the company’s 23-acre, 325,000-square-foot North American headquarters. The site is located at 700 Sylvan Ave. in Englewood Cliffs, just across the Hudson River from New York City.

The agreement provides that upon closing, the land and the building will be leased back to Unilever via an 18-year triple-net lease. The sale is expected to close prior the end of 2016.

The renovated headquarters will be both LEED- and WELL-certified and benefits will include reducing CO2 emissions, reducing energy consumption by 50 percent, reducing water demand via low-flow plumbing and diverting 75 percent of construction waste from landfills.

OVG plans to increase the size of the property by 28 percent to accommodate 1,600 employees. Unilever expects the new campus to be largely finished by the fourth quarter of 2017.

Cushman and Wakefield advised in the partnership formation. Other partners include Perkins + Will Architects; Unilever’s legal advisor Robinson Cole; Drinker Biddle & Reith and AKD Advocaten, both serving as legal advisors to the OVG-Normandy joint venture; general contractor StructureTone; and insurance advisor Parallel.

— Jaime Lackey

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