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WHIPPANY, N.J. — Bayer’s new 700,000-square-foot North American headquarters, located on the former 194-acre Alcatel-Lucent campus in Whippany, has opened. Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, has invested a reported $250 million in the site. The new headquarters consolidates the company’s operations from Morristown, Montville and Wayne, N.J., and Tarrytown, N.Y., into one location.
In 2010, Vision Equities and Rubenstein Partners acquired the property, which included 1.4 million square feet of obsolete office and laboratory space. In 2012, the partnership sold 94 acres to Bayer Healthcare.
Bayer has relocated approximately 2,400 employees from four locations to Whippany, wrapping up the first phase of the redevelopment project. Vision Equities and Rubenstein Properties are planning a mixed-use development that will include retail, hospitality and residential uses for the 94-acre south campus parcel.
“Moving forward, the second phase of development will generate years of construction jobs, retail commerce and new housing,” says Sam Morreale, managing partner and chief investor office for Mountain Lakes, N.J.-based Vision Equities. “The multiplicity of uses also will provide employment diversity and balance. Simply put, this campus provides a benchmark illustration of how strategic public/private partnerships can transform our state’s underutilized, antiquated facilities into vibrant, modern ‘live/work/play’ environments.”
Vision Equities is a real estate development and asset management firm that has acquired, developed or operated more than 70 million square feet of real estate projects. The company focuses on properties mainly located on the East Coast.
Based in Philadelphia, Rubenstein Partners is a real estate investment and advisory services company that provides transaction, asset management, operation, construction and leasing services. The firm is currently focused on directing and managing value-add office real estate investments in Rubenstein Properties Fund LP, its discretionary fund.
— Brittany Biddy