345,000-SF Expansion Underway at College Park

PRINCETON, NJ-Site work is just underway for the first phase of a five-building, 345,000-sf expansion of the existing College Park at Princeton Forrestal Center, a multi-tenant office and R&D campus currently containing 11 buildings totaling 814,000 sf. The addition, which is being done on a build-to-suit basis by College Park’s owner/developer, Lawrence Zirinsky Associates of New York City, also marks the first-ever expansion of the property.

The 31-acre expansion site is immediately contiguous to the existing 85-acre business campus in the Route 1 corridor, according to Vincent Marano, chief operating officer of National Business Parks of Princeton, which leases and manages the property. NBP, which has its offices on-site, is also providing construction supervision for the project. The first phase of the expansion will include one four-story and two single-story buildings amounting to 195,000 sf.

Build-out is projected to encompass a total of five new buildings, according to Marano. They would include two, four-story buildings of 75,000 sf each; two, one-story buildings of 60,000 sf each; and one single-story 75,000-sf building.

“We are moving forward with the addition to College Park based on our early discussions with prospective users of this new space,” Marano says. “Despite some of the current economic uncertainties in the market, businesses seem to be willing to commit to well-planned and well-located space. We are currently having discussions with several companies that are interested in substantial portions of space in the new complex.”

The R&D space within the expansion will contain 20-foot ceiling heights, according to Marano. It will also include heavy duty electric, and individual spaces will be custom designed for each tenant.

College Park at Princeton Forrestal Center has a tenant roster that includes Bloomberg LP, the FMC Corp., Panasonic, Hitachi, Armkel/Medpoint, Bracco Diagnostics, Merrill Lynch and Orchid Biosciences. The property “has operated at nearly 100% occupancy for the past five years,” Marano says. “Tenant firms typically expand to new space as it becomes available.”