Prism Capital Partners is in the midst of redeveloping the former Hoffmann-LaRoche campus in Nutley and Clifton.
By Joshua Burd
A biotech firm has reportedly opted to move its headquarters from Brooklyn to a piece of the former Hoffmann-LaRoche campus in Nutley, following the approval of a $32.3 million state tax credit aimed at luring the company to New Jersey.
Published reports say the firm, Modern Meadow, announced this week that it would establish a laboratory and pilot manufacturing site at the campus now owned by affiliates of Prism Capital Partners. The biotech firm has told state officials it would lease 119,327 square feet within the 116-acre campus on Route 3, including about 73,000 square feet of existing space and 46,420 square feet of planned additional construction to support its business.
The venture revolves around what’s known as biofabrication of leather that is made from collagen protein instead of animals. With its commitment to the former Roche site, Modern Meadow will join Hackensack Meridian Health and Seton Hall University’s planned medical school there, representing another major step in repositioning what had been one of the state’s largest vacant life sciences campuses.
“We are excited to be part of the growing New Jersey biotech community,” Modern Meadow CEO Andras Forgacs said in a prepared statement, according to NorthJersey.com. “With this move, Modern Meadow is committed to expanding its biofabrication platform and continuing to build next-generation materials for the consumers of the future.”
“We are thrilled to be in close proximity to a scientific talent pool and look forward to growing with Nutley.”
Roche, a Swiss pharmaceutical giant, announced in 2012 that it was vacating its historic research campus in Nutley and Clifton after some 80 years. Prism acquired the site last year as part of a plan to reposition the site as a dynamic, mixed-use corporate center.
The firm, a Bloomfield-based developer, has since rebranded the campus as ON3 as part of its effort to attract new tenants.
Modern Meadow told the state Economic Development Authority, which awarded the 10-year, $32.3 million Grow New Jersey tax credit last month, that it was considering an alternative location in Farmingdale, New York.
“We are thrilled to welcome Modern Meadow to the ON3 campus and look forward to expanding this site with more innovators across tech, entrepreneurship, medical education and retail,” said Gene Diaz, a principal partner with Prism Capital Partners.
An EDA board memo said the total investment of the project, including construction, machinery, equipment and build-out, is $20.8 million. Modern Meadow, founded in 2011, has told the state the project would result in the creation of 263 new jobs to New Jersey.
