JV Purchases 1.2M SF Life Sciences Campus in Central NJ
Lincoln Equities Group and H.I.G. Realty Partners have acquired the Princeton West Innovation Campus, situated along the Boston–Washington DC life sciences corridor.
HOPEWELL, NJ – Lincoln Equities Group and H.I.G. Realty Partners have acquired the 1.2-million-square-foot, life sciences campus, Princeton West Innovation Campus in Hopewell, NJ.
Situated along the Boston–Washington DC life sciences corridor, located seven miles from Princeton, NJ, the 433-acre campus comprises nine buildings and offers state-of-the-art clinical manufacturing, plug-and-play biological laboratories and office space. The site additionally features freestanding research and development support space, storage facilities and a global data and command center.
The campus’ onsite amenities comprise a full-service cafeteria, an 8,000-square-foot fitness center, a freestanding, 28,000-square-foot child development center and multiple conference areas, including the campus’ original building, a 9,000-square-foot mansion.
“Given the current public health crisis, we anticipate pharmaceutical and life sciences manufacturers to consider ‘reshoring’ and expanding operations in the US,” said Joel Bergstein, president of LEG. “This spacious, modern BMS campus – located in the center of ‘Einstein’s Alley’ in Central New Jersey – is a prime location for continued innovation and expansion.”
Featuring build-to-suit opportunities, the campus is divisible into various footprint sizes. The site is zoned for commercial manufacturing and also features 35 acres of development opportunity, with the ability to expand to 2.8 million square feet. The additional development parcel offers class A infrastructure and fully-stubbed utilities.
The site is supported by a central utility complex, which provides wastewater management, generator-backed electricity, chilled water and steam.
“This campus presents an opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for pharmaceutical-grade lab space both locally and nationally,” said Ira Weidhorn, co-head of H.I.G. Realty Partners. “We look forward to building around the strong in-place anchor tenancy of PTC and leveraging H.I.G.’s real estate expertise and bio-health experience to enhance the execution of the value-add business plan.”
JLL is currently marketing the campus to life science companies. PTC Therapeutics Inc. currently occupies more than 200,000 square feet of the campus, including a biologics production facility and research and development buildings.
The multi-purpose research and development and biologic/pharmaceutical manufacturing campus was formerly owned by global biopharmaceutical company, Bristol Myers Squibb.
Lincoln Equities Group’s life sciences division will manage the property.
“Our life sciences division at LEG has grown to nearly two million square feet with the addition of the former BMS campus,” said Lance Bergstein, acquisitions and development officer at LEG. “New Jersey has one of the most highly educated and skilled workforces in the US, including the highest concentration of scientists and engineers in the world. Our life sciences team expects to see an influx of investment across the state.”
