Cadbury Adams has also signed a long-term lease agreement to occupy the facility, which is expected to be under construction in July, according to Sam Morreale, the director of development and leasing in Archon's New Jersey office. The building is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy in the second half of 2005.
Besides Morreale, the Archon development team that put the project together includes Fred Arena, director of commercial real estate; regional counsel Steve Jason; and Tom Monaghan, the firm's asset manager. David Houston of Colliers Houston, Teaneck, NJ, represented Cadbury Adams in the lease negotiations. Neither the terms of the lease nor the cost of the project are being disclosed.
"This lease demonstrates our ability to provide major corporations with development solutions that meet their operational, financial and real estate requirements," Morreale says.
Archon had previously gotten approvals to build a total of up to 301,000 sf of class A office space on this and an adjacent site along Route 10 here, according to Morreale. The adjacent site remains available for another 100,000-sf project, which Archon is currently shopping.
Cadbury Adams, which has its headquarters in nearby Parsippany, NJ, will utilize the new building for research aimed at expanding its product line by developing new gum, mint and candy products, according to company officials. The company's current brands include such names as Certs, Chiclets, Dentyne, Halls, Trident, Clorets, Bubbaloo and Bubblicious.
The UK-based Cadbury Schweppes acquired Adams from Pfizer early last year for a reported $4.2 billion--a deal which made Cadbury the world's biggest confectioner. Pfizer itself had inherited Adams when it acquired Warner-Lambert a couple of years ago, and promptly started selling off the latter's non-core (i.e., non-pharmaceutical) divisions.
"Cadbury Adams' commitment to this area is great news for Morris County, and for the entire state of New Jersey," Arena says. "It's a terrific reflection that New Jersey's economy is gaining momentum."
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