NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — As growth in New Jersey’s life sciences sector accelerates demand for modern lab and innovation space, SJP Properties, in collaboration with New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), has unveiled plans to develop H-2, the second phase of HELIX Health + Life Science Exchange — the dynamic innovation district currently under development on a four-acre site in downtown New Brunswick. HDR has been appointed as the lead architect for H-2 and
HELIX aims to bring together the power of academia and public and private sector research under one roof and will provide businesses, universities and researchers with the critical space to work, learn and experiment. With a total cost of $731 million, HELIX, which will be built in three phases, represents the largest investment in life sciences and medical education in the state of NJ’s history. SJP’s mixed-use building, H-2, will include 600,000 s/f of build-to-suit lab and office space that can accommodate a range of uses for large corporate life sciences and technology company tenants.
Adjacent to Rutgers University and opposite the city’s train station, H-1, the first phase of HELIX, is currently under construction and will comprise 574,000 s/f that includes the New Jersey Innovation HUB, the new home of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a Rutgers translational research facility equipped with a variety of labs to advance the work of 80 research teams and put into practice Rutgers Health innovations that will improve individual and public health. Core Partners for the New Jersey Innovation HUB include NJ Economic Development Authority, RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Middlesex County, Rutgers University, Tel Aviv University and Atlantic Technological University of Galway, Ireland. Rising two stories in height, H-1’s ground floor will feature amenities and kiosks that will be accessible to the public, including a 10,000 s/f market hall with food options and a 3,000 s/f restaurant that opens onto a 70-foot-wide plaza.
H-3, the final phase of HELIX, is proposed as a 42-story mixed-use building to include additional office space and 220 units of housing.
In recent years, New Brunswick has experienced an influx of public and private real estate investment totaling nearly $3 billion for in-progress developments — with an additional $1 billion in the pipeline. For more than 30 years, DEVCO has been the catalyst for redevelopment capitalized by academic, public and private investments that include the Rutgers Honors College, Gateway Transit Village, the Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, Wellness Plaza and The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center. These transformative projects have elevated New Brunswick to the state’s leading transit-oriented innovation cluster.
“We are establishing the only ecosystem in the county where academic researchers, private sector researchers, entrepreneurs, medical students, and educators will co-locate in an environment of discovery and collaboration – where creative collisions can occur,” said Christopher Paladino, president of DEVCO.
New Brunswick’s vibrant downtown offers walkable access to a wide array of amenities including top restaurants, cultural and performing arts venues; a world-class fitness and wellness plaza, award-winning hotels and a diverse concentration of residential opportunities.
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