BASF Takes Another 96,000 SF

As was the case in the Florham Park lease, BASF was represented by Robert Donnelly and Marc Rosenberg of Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey's Parsippany office. The 333 Mount Hope Ave. building is owned by the Archon Group, which was represented in-house by Sam Morreale, leasing director in the firm's Chatham, NJ office. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, however, comparable space in the region is currently being listed in the high $20s per sf range.

Both signings were precipitated by BASF's need to downsize and relocate its operations in the region. The Florham Park location is housing the company's headquarters and executive offices, while Archon's building here will house BASF's technology operations, according to company officials.

BASF had, since 1994, been occupying its own 155-acre, one-million-sf campus within the 680-acre International Trade Center in Mt. Olive, NJ. That asset is currently on the market as the company moves into its new leased quarters.

"The strategy behind our move from Mt. Olive mirrors corporate America's continued focus on operational efficiency," Philip E. Kaplan, SVP and treasurer of BASF, says. "The Florham Park and Rockaway properties are ideal for our current requirements."

C&W is also representing BASF in the disposition of its Mt. Olive campus, which hit the market late last year with an asking price of $195 million. The campus is comprised of five interconnected buildings, as well as two parking garages with a total capacity of 2,350 cars.

And despite the current softness in the region's office market, Donnelly says there has been substantial interest in the property, which has additional development rights for up to 700,000 sf of building space. "It comes as no surprise that we have received a very positive response to the offering," Donnelly says.