M. Gordon has given the leasing exclusive for the property to Colliers Houston & Co., based in Teaneck, NJ. The assignment will be handled by senior vice president Stan Kurzweil, associate vice president Jeffrey G. Furey and associate Thomas A. March of the firm's Somerset, NJ office.

The project has a number of unusual aspects, beginning with the fact that it's a rare spec office project in a larger regional market overloaded with vacancies, both the direct and sublet variety. It's also a rare office building in a submarket, Exit 8A, that is decidedly better known for its big box industrial product – and that's what the developer is apparently counting on to make it work.

"This is certainly a pioneering move, as this will be the first pure office building developed in the area," according to Furey. "Innovation has always been a mindset of M. Gordon Construction, so this project is a perfect fit."

That figures to be a selling point--that fact that there just isn't a lot of office space in the vicinity. M. Gordon, incidentally, is perhaps better known as a builder of office buildings for others. In this case, however, the company plans to continue to own the building, although possibly not all of it.

"The developer is also breaking new ground in another dramatic respect," explains Kurzweil. "Major tenants are being offered equity positions in the property. In the course of real estate history, few owners have been willing to share ownership in this fashion."

Among the tenant categories that are being targeted for the building are major professional organizations, including law firms, accounting firms and medical groups, according to Kurzweil.

"We believe the location and quality of the building will be well received by corporations interested in high-profile office space in the 8A/Princeton submarket," Furey concludes.