Company is the Latest in String of Tenants That Have Leased More Space
at the Premier Life Sciences R&D Campus
The partnership of Advance Realty and CrossHarbor Capital Partners, LLC announced today that Solaris Pharma Corporation is the latest tenant to expand at the New Jersey Center of Excellence (NJCOE), the renowned life sciences campus in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
Solaris, which signed a 18,072-square-foot lease, is increasing its footprint at NJCOE by more than 13,000 square feet. The company, which is engaged in the development of pharmaceutical products, with specific focus on topical and transdermal products, is among a host of leading-edge companies that have signed new leases or significant expansions in recent months, including Avantor Performance Materials, Vertice Pharma, Matinas BioPharma and Clinical Genomics.
Solaris will now occupy the entire third floor of Building G, one of the eight state-of-the-art office and laboratory buildings at NJCOE, where Advance and CrossHarbor are creating a holistic mixed-use community designed to attract the world’s brightest minds and companies.
Advance was represented in lease negotiations by Director of Asset Management Barry Quiner and the JLL team of Daniel Loughlin, Robert Ryan, Craig Eisenhardt and Scott Stange.
“With modern R&D infrastructure that is second to none, and a location at the center of the Boston-to-D.C. corridor, the New Jersey Center of Excellence has proven to be the perfect fit for our company since we initially moved into the campus in 2015,” said Lakshmi Raghavan, founder and president of Solaris Pharma Corporation. “Our products have a relatively high barrier to entry due to manufacturing complexities and high-end clinical patient study demands, and our expanded space at NJCOE will enable us to create efficiencies that will help us thrive.”
Advance and CrossHarbor purchased NJCOE in 2013, when global pharmaceutical company Sanofi relocated its research and development arm to the Boston area. Since then, the partnership has embarked on a master-planned development that will see the campus’ 800,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory and office space complemented by 400 luxury residences as well as numerous amenities of urban life, including restaurants, a grocer, entertainment, shops and outdoor recreation — all amidst the serene backdrop and rolling hills of Central New Jersey’s Somerset County. Construction on the town center portion of the project is set to begin later this year.
“Our goal for the Center of Excellence has always been to provide our tenants with the space and infrastructure needed to grow within the campus, while, at the same time, creating a vibrant workplace where employees look forward to coming to work each day,” said Peter Cocoziello, founder and CEO of Advance Realty. “This latest expansion with Solaris is a testament to the environment that we’re creating at NJCOE, and the tenant commitment that we’re seeing as a result.”
Since unveiling the master plan for NJCOE, Advance and CrossHarbor have attracted some of the world’s leading life sciences companies, including global nutrition therapy innovator Nestlé Health Science, which signed a lease in 2015 for 180,000 square feet of research and development space. The property’s impressive tenant roster also includes Nevakar, Ashland, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Insmed Inc., 3D Biotek, Union MedTech, Clinical Genomics/Enterix and GSG Scientific.
The property offers several features designed to suit life science companies’ evolving needs, including power feeds from two substations, a cogeneration system in the central utility plant, generator back-up for the central plant and cooling towers as well as building-level generator back-up. It also features amenities for employees such as a full-service cafeteria, common board room and 120-seat auditorium.
Key to Advance’s vision for NJCOE is the campus’s geographic location. In the middle of the Boston-to-D.C. “wealth corridor,” Bridgewater Township boasts the highest concentration of life sciences companies in New Jersey. NJCOE is also adjacent to Interstate 287, which connects New York City, Westchester County and Northern New Jersey, as well as State Routes 202/206, 22 and 28. Interstate 78, which connects Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and New York City, is three miles from the campus.
About Advance Realty
Advance Realty is a privately owned real estate development, investment and management company headquartered in Bridgewater, N.J. Since its inception in 1979, Advance Realty has acquired or developed more than 10 million square feet of commercial, residential, R&D, industrial and mixed-use projects. Today, the company owns, manages and invests in a diversified portfolio of office, retail, industrial, residential and mixed-use assets in key urban and suburban markets along the Northeast Corridor. The company actively pursues real estate investments that provide opportunity to enhance value through development, repositioning and redevelopment. Advance’s strong capital base, fully integrated platform, outstanding talent and flexibility as a privately held organization position the company for continued growth. For more information, visit www.advancere.com.
About CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC
CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC is a Boston-based alternative investment management firm that invests in value-add and opportunistic commercial real estate transactions. The firm seeks short and medium duration debt and equity investments that offer a compelling case for generating high absolute returns. CrossHarbor was founded in 1993 and has invested in more than $13 billion of commercial real estate on behalf of a diversified and highly regarded group of endowments, foundations, public and corporate pension plans, family offices and sovereign entities.
