BRIDGEWATER, NJ—Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is doubling down on its office space at Somerset Corporate Center in Bridgewater, NJ. The healthcare firm signed a long-term, 620,000-square-foot lease for two full buildings within the master-planned business center. The transaction is one of New Jersey's largest office leases of the last decade.

The transaction underscores evidence of a flight to quality in suburban office space. Recent research by CBRE suggests that trophy office buildings are outperforming the market in general and that such buildings in the Route 287/78/24 suburban submarket of New Jersey have a vacancy rage averaging 14.7 percent, vs. an overall vacancy rate for New Jersey of 21.8 percent. 

“This is a very strong market for pharmaceutical, this is probably the 'pharmaceutical belt' of New Jersey,” Jeff Schotz, executive vice president of SJP Properties, owner of the complex, tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “This is a natural location for a company like Valeant.”

Valeant Pharmaceuticals established its US headquarters at Somerset Corporate Center in 2014 and currently leases all of Somerset Corporate Center IV. With the new lease, the multinational pharmaceutical company has both extended the term of its original lease at Somerset Corporate Center IV, and leasing the entire 310,000 square feet of space in Somerset Corporate Center III. Valeant was represented in the transaction by GAF Realty Advisors and Cushman & Wakefield. SJP was represented in house by Schotz and senior vice president Peter Bronsnick. Schotz declined to specify the length of the lease.

“Companies today are not just looking for cheap deals. They're looking for office environments that are going to sustain over a period of time,” Schotz says. “The last thing they need is a building that's not going to be able to provide for a productive work environment over the term of the lease. Productivity becomes profitability. Productivity is increased in a building like Somerset Corporate Center.”

The two class A office buildings leased by Valeant are part of SJP's five-building Somerset Corporate Center campus, widely recognized as one of the premier business centers in the region.

“Somerset Corporate Center features flexible, highly efficient office space that will enable Valeant to seamlessly integrate multiple business units in one location,” says Steven J. Pozycki, founder and CEO of SJP Properties. “Additionally, the center is situated in one of the country's strongest labor pools for the pharmaceutical and technology sectors, providing the company with a distinct competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent. We are extremely pleased to be able to accommodate Valeant's growing presence while supporting New Jersey's continued leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Totaling 1.5 million square feet of class A office space, Somerset Corporate Center's five existing buildings are situated around a 15-acre landscaped central park. SJP Properties is currently marketing a development site within Somerset Corporate Center for a build-to-suit office building or mixed-use project.

“We build out the infrastructure of the building, the mechanical systems of the building, which are all above what I think is standard in the New Jersey marketplace,” says Schotz. “These are the types of properties that smart companies are looking for, because they need cutting edge facilities in order to have maximum productivity.”

In addition to Valeant, a number of high-caliber global companies call Somerset Corporate Center home, including Qualcomm, Allergan, Cognizant Technologies, Aon Hewitt and Merrill Lynch.

One of SJP's signature developments, Somerset Corporate Center is near Newark International Airport and New York City, and is situated directly across from the nearly one million-square-foot Bridgewater Commons Mall – the second largest mall in New Jersey. The property's unique configuration affords access in all directions via Routes 202/206 and 22, as well as Interstates 287 and 78. Additionally, the center offers access to public transportation, including NJ TRANSIT service via a shuttle to the Somerville train station just four miles from the property, and features a state-of-the-art conference facility, as well as fitness centers and cafes in each of its buildings.