The Bridgewater Medical Building at 1125 Route 22 West in Bridgewater — Courtesy: Atkins Cos.
By Joshua Burd
Atkins Cos. has lured a top New Jersey health care network to a new location in Bridgewater, inking a 37,030-square-foot lease at the site of a former office space for a bank.
The landlord on Tuesday announced the commitment by Atlantic Health System, which will occupy more than a third of the property at 1125 Route 22 West. Atkins will redesign the former Bank of America regional office space to suit the needs of the provider, which will take partial occupancy by year-end and full occupancy by early 2021.
The deal follows Atkins’ 2017 acquisition of the building alongside Capital Solutions Inc. At the time, the building was fully leased to Bank of America and MidJersey Health Corp., a joint venture between Hunterdon Healthcare and Atlantic Health System, although the lender was planning to vacate the building upon its upcoming lease expiration.
Atlantic Health System will occupy the remaining space at what’s now called the Bridgewater Medical Building. Colliers International’s Bryn Cinque and Jim Bailey represented the tenant, the Morristown-based parent of hospitals such as Morristown Medical Center.
“When we acquired the building three years ago, we sought to leverage our experience in similar health care adaptive reuse projects to reimagine it as one of central New Jersey’s finest medical office properties,” said Cory Atkins, vice president and director of acquisitions with Atkins. “We look forward to working with Atlantic Health System to expand their presence at this building to create a unique specialty health care hub designed around the diverse needs of their patients and the local community.”
Atkins expects to complete Atlantic Health’s full buildout in the first quarter of next year, according to a news release. Improvements will include closing in the existing drive-thru banking underpass to seamlessly integrate the structure, various exterior site improvements including constructing two new entrances with canopies and drive-up/drop-offs and a total interior renovation creating modern medical suites.
Upon completion, Atlantic Health plans to house subspecialty practices such as orthopedics, oncology and OBGYN. Additionally, through Atlantic Health’s newly expanded joint venture with Hunterdon Healthcare, the organization is now a partner in the existing state-of-the-art surgery center and imaging center, both located on the west side of the building.
