Somerset Financial Center at 1405-1425 Route 206 in Bedminster
By Joshua Burd
AT&T has signed a new lease at a 230,000-square-foot office property in Bedminster, reportedly with plans to relocate employees from its massive campus in township.
The telecom giant is moving to 1405-1425 Route 206, also known as Somerset Financial Center, where it will backfill a space vacated by the embattled Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. But it will do so as part of a shift from its longtime, well-known home off Route 202/206, according to The Bernardsville News, which also noted that AT&T recently received a variance in connection with the former Mallinckrodt complex.
A report by CBRE listed the deal at 1405-1425 Route 206 as New Jersey’s largest office lease of the third quarter. And it came amid some 1.32 million square feet in overall leasing volume from July through September, helping lower the availability rate in northern and central New Jersey by 130 basis points from Q2 to 22.9 percent.
Additionally, the report found that leasing in the region topped 1 million square feet for the fourth consecutive quarter, thanks also to deals such as K Hovnanian’s 62,000-square-foot commitment at 90 Matawan Road in Old Bridge. Through Q3, year-to-date activity is up 101 percent from the same point last year, CBRE said, although the tally is still 5 percent behind 2019 totals.
Meantime, the strong improvement in leasing, absorption and declining vacancy rates were the impetus for rents to rise during the quarter to $30.31 per square foot.
“Despite concern over inflation and higher interest rates that have been affecting employment, New Jersey’s office market continues to recover with robust leasing, lower vacancy rates and climbing rents,” said Adam Englander, a senior vice president with CBRE. “We believe that despite some challenges the market should continue to progress through the end of the year.”
AT&T’s new location is about 2.5 miles north of the intersection of interstates 287 and 78. The deal comes four years after a partnership led by P3 Properties purchased the complex from Related Cos.
According to The Bernardsville News, AT&T has occupied its 194-acre, 1.1 million-square-foot campus in Bedminster since 1977, first as an owner and then as a tenant after selling it to a unit of MetLife. The company did not disclose the size of its current workforce in the township or the number of employees that would be moving to the new site.
“We routinely evaluate our real estate portfolio and adjust it as needed to align with the needs of our customers and the business,” an AT&T spokesman told the publication in mid-August. “We’re moving the work currently done at 1 AT&T Way to another facility in Bedminster because our lease is expiring.
“It’s important to note that these jobs will remain in Bedminster and we remain committed to New Jersey. From 2019-2021, we expanded coverage and improved connectivity in New Jersey by investing more than $1.1 billion in our wireless and wireline networks.”
P3 acquires 233,000 sq. ft. pharma HQ building in Bedminster, C&W says
