777 Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro — Courtesy: Colliers International
By Joshua Burd
A biotechnology firm is set to become the first new tenant at the former Bristol-Myers Squibb campus in Plainsboro, where it will lease more than 90,000 square feet for its new U.S. headquarters and research lab.
Brokers with Colliers International announced Tuesday that Genmab A/S has signed a long-term commitment at 777 Scudders Mill Road, part of a three-building, 125-acre complex just east of Route 1. The international company, which focuses on cancer treatments, will occupy 90,070 square feet across two floors.
Colliers Executive Managing Director Charlie Hatfield and Associate Director Brett Incollingo represented the property owner, Trawler Capital Management, along with JLL’s Tom Romano. JLL managing directors Dan Spero and Craig Eisenhardt and vice president Jason Benson represented Genmab.
“The combination of working with a well-funded and transaction-oriented owner, who controls the best quality product in the market, and is tenant- and broker-friendly, is always a winning combination in the very competitive world of attracting and retaining world class tenants like Genmab,” said Hatfield, who leads Colliers’ New Jersey life sciences practice.
News of the deal comes more than three months after Genmab was awarded a 10-year, $12.8 million tax credit incentive under the state’s expired Grow New Jersey program. The approval by the Economic Development Authority is tied to the retention of 66 jobs currently based in West Windsor and the company’s pledge to create an additional 150 jobs over the next three years.
Genmab, an affiliate of a publicly traded, Copenhagen-based company, told the EDA it was also considering an alternate site in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania.
Bristol-Myers Squibb vacated the Plainsboro campus in 2017 after opening a new 650,000-square-foot headquarters in Lawrenceville. Designed by The Hiller Group, the property consists of three five-story office buildings, each about 220,000 square feet and situated within a landscaped campus with walking trails, an amphitheater, outdoor eating and meeting areas.
Trawler Capital is now slated to add new amenities to build on the complex’s institutional quality and its location in the Princeton and Route 1 submarket, Colliers said. Those new features will include new conference and meeting facilities, private and reservable wellness rooms, a media lab and electric car chargers.
“We are pleased to be part of the 777 Scudders Mill Road campus environment, which supports our ambitions to nurture Genmab’s corporate culture in a new and vibrant workplace environment that aligns with our company vision,” said Chris Cozic, corporate vice president of human resources with Genmab. “New Jersey’s ever-dynamic and innovative life-sciences ecosystem, along with the high-skilled labor market in the state, made the campus an ideal location to continue our growth trajectory.”
Colliers also noted that the campus is adjacent to a new 120,000-square-foot Life Time Fitness flagship location, hotels, restaurants and daycare facilities.
Brendan Driscoll, director of Trawler Capital Management, said the firm “is thrilled to welcome Genmab as the lead tenant of 777 Scudders.”
“We continue to drive the campus’ evolution from single-tenant headquarters to a multi-tenant, multinational center of innovation,” Driscoll said. “Genmab could not have made a better choice, and we hope their selection of our site is the first of many high caliber lease signings. We appreciate the cooperation and professionalism of Genmab’s team in completing the lease and look forward to the build out of its best-in-class facilities.”
Biotech firm, weighing 90,000 sq. ft. HQ in Plainsboro, wins EDA tax credit approval
