New West Windsor Office Building Offers Rare Build-to-Suit Opportunity

WEST WINDSOR, NJ—New office construction is rare in the current commercial real estate market, and mid-size build-to-suit opportunities are even rarer still. Mountain Development Corp. and Gottesman Real Estate Partners are aiming to change that with an office building ready for construction in West Windsor.

The 38,000-square-foot build-to-suit opportunity is located at 19 Roszel Road in West Windsor. It is adjacent to Carnegie Center, and is part of the two-building Roszel Square development. The project is close to New Jersey Transit at Princeton Junction, along with the many restaurants and amenities of Market Fair and nearby power retail centers.

“The site is fully entitled, and shovel-ready,” says Michael Allen Seeve, president of the Woodland Park, NJ-based MDC. “This allows us to deliver the space on time and on budget, as we did with the first building.”

Milt Charbonneau of DTZ is leading the marketing effort for the venture. Charbonneau says the building could be named for a tenant of 20,000 square feet, which is highly unusual.

The developers completed the initial 21 Roszel Road, a 62,500-square-foot, three-story building, led by a build-to-suit lease with Hill Wallack, LLP earlier this year. The law firm occupies 48,000 square feet, and Ripen eCommerce subsequently leased 9,200 square feet, leaving just one 4,000-square-foot first-floor space availability.

“Hill Wallack was a candidate for renewal at its previous location, but we were able to structure a long-term transaction for a new building at comparable pricing,” says Seeve. “The Princeton/West Windsor market is one of the few in New Jersey that offers tenants the opportunity to move into brand-new, build-to-suit space for exactly what they would pay for older, less-contemporary offices.”

The 19 Roszel Road build-to-suit opportunity is situated in an area with many established global companies as neighbors. “Our project is on a much more human scale, allowing a mid-size company the opportunity to design and create its own space and enjoy the branding that comes with it in a very prestigious location.”

Prospective lead tenants for the new building will be able to play a major role in planning the interior design of their office space.

To begin construction, MDC is seeking a lead tenant of “not less than 20,000 square feet,” with building signage a key amenity. “When you drive on Roszel Road, you see the Hill Wallack name, along with the corporate logos of some of the finest companies in the country, prominently displayed,” he says. “This is a very exciting address and a chance for real identity and place making.”

The venture has already received feedback on the availability, according to Charbonneau. “We expect to be moving forward on this project in the very near future.”

Correction, 7/23/2015: An earlier version of this story described the 21 Roszel Road property as having 625,000 square feet, based on information provided by the developer's public relations firm. The firm informed GlobeSt.com that the correct size is 62,500 square feet.