Advance Realty Group, U.S. Army and InSitech, Inc. Receive Morris County Chamber of Commerce Award for Picatinny Applied Research Campus
The Morris County Chamber of Commerce honored Advance Realty Group, the U.S. Army and InSitech, Inc., with an Economic Business Development Award recognizing entrepreneurial innovation for the Picatinny Applied Research Campus (PARC). The PARC is a planned 1.1 million-square-foot development stemming from an Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) agreement between Advance and InSitech, Inc., a partnership intermediary for the US Army’s Picatinny Arsenal Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC).
Peter J. Cocoziello, president and CEO of Advanced Realty, David Banashefski of the U.S. Army, and Timothy N. Teen, president and CEO of InSitech received the award from Freeholder John Murphy at the Morris County Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Outlook and Business Development Awards luncheon, the area’s most comprehensive economic forecast event for New Jersey and Morris County.
“Being honored by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce for entrepreneurial innovation mirrors what’s happening at the PARC,” said Cocoziello, whose company is a leading Northeast U.S. owner and developer of Class A office properties. “A significant amount of local and national entrepreneurial companies are showing interest in this project due to its tremendous potential for tenants.”
Teen added, “We have demand from firms that already have a presence at Picatinny, as well as national companies and research organizations that want to take advantage of both the technology transfer opportunities and the one-of-a-kind technology infrastructure that Picatinny offers.”
Being recognized as a new economic engine for Morris County, the PARC development plan includes one- to three-story build-to-suit and multi-tenanted buildings with labs, office space and multi-purpose space for high tech, defense and academic tenants and users. The properties will offer Class A office and flex space designed for maximum flexibility in floor plan layouts and tenant fit-outs.
The initial development of the PARC will feature the development of approximately 100,000 square feet of office/lab space within Picatinny’s “downtown” area. Tenant demand has been strong from government contractors at Picatinny, as well as from research universities, communications, electronics, homeland defense/homeland security, and emerging technology companies throughout the United States. Interested tenants are attracted to Picatinny’s $1.5 billion of high technology equipment, over 64 laboratories, and intellectual assets, some of which only exist at the base.
PARC tenants will also have access to the amenities of Picatinny Arsenal, which include food services, recreational fields and an 18-hole golf course. In addition, Advance’s plans for future buildings in the PARC include videoconference capabilities, meeting rooms, an auditorium, and classrooms. These amenities will help spur formal and informal collaboration between contractors and government workers, further enabling the exchange of information among various tenants and groups in concert with the concept of mission-related technology development and transfer envisioned by Advance and InSitech.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.), a member of the House of Representatives appropriations committee, said that Advance Realty Group’s development plan of the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal under the Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) initiative “just may become a model for other bases.” The U.S. Army’s Enhanced Use Leasing program for non-excess real property gives Department of Defense installations the authority and incentive to obtain a broad range of in-kind consideration in exchange for leasing revenue.
Cocoziello added, “When completed, the PARC will be a state-of-the-art, high-tech campus like no other in the country, offering significant ‘technology infrastructure amenities’ in a collaborative manner that will foster innovation. As an outstanding example of a public/private partnership between Advance, InSitech and the United States Army, it will operate as a world-class enhancement to Picatinny’s mission, which is to support the soldier.”
About Picatinny Arsenal
Picatinny Arsenal is located on approximately 6,500 acres of land with access from NJ State Highway Route 15, a mile from a full interchange on Interstate 80 in Morris County. Picatinny has a distinguished history in armaments and munitions development and production dating back to the Revolutionary War. Today, the installation employs over 4,000 full-time government and contractor personnel. Over 1,900 of Picatinny’s government employees are engineers and/or scientists. Picatinny has approximately $1.5 billion invested in state-of-the-art, cutting edge technological equipment and $115 million in new R&D facility projects in the planning stages or under construction. Many of the technologies support research applications across a broad range of industry, government and university endeavors.
About InSitech
Headquartered at the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County, New Jersey, InSitech is an integral driver in the Army’s transformation strategy, and Picatinny’s base optimization plan. Representing the business interests of Picatinny/ARDEC as their non-profit partnership intermediary, InSitech is focused on accelerating technology exchange, licensing and commercialization opportunities, through business combination with the Government, University and Private Sectors.
About Advance Realty Group
Advance Realty Group is an owner and developer of office, flex, industrial, retail and multifamily properties. With 5.5 million square feet of operating properties and a development portfolio consisting of eight million square feet of commercial projects and 9,400 residential units, Advance is one of the leading real estate owners in the Northeast and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey. For leasing information on Picatinny Applied Research Campus, contact Brian Banaszynski, vice president, Advance Realty Group at (908) 719-3000 or visit www.advancerealtygroup.com.
