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included Honeywell International’s
headquarters. That sprawling complex
became vacant in 2015 when the
company moved to neighboring
Morris Plains, leaving the township
with a stranded asset in a struggling
suburban office market.
Transforming the property meant
overcoming multiple obstacles.
Kristin Byrd of Gensler, who served
as design director for the project, said
the Red Bulls initially looked at the old
Bayer HealthCare site nearby, which
was smaller and could have fit just six
full-size pitches
and two youth-
size pitches.
About six months
into the process,
the Honeywell
campus became
available as part
of a potential 80-
Kristin Byrd
acre assemblage
that “really set the team up for success
for everything that they wanted to do.”
Honeywell, which ultimately moved
its headquarters to North Carolina,
was planning to sell the site to a
residential developer. Racioppi and
township officials “just called them up
relentlessly” to change their mind, he
said, which it did in 2021 after many
discussions with the mayor and “with
the comfort and security given by
the Red Bulls that they would timely
perform and close the transaction.”
The technology giant amicably broke
that contract and sold the property
to the club in 2021, but without
contingencies after forgoing the
earlier offer.
Still, the planning board needed to
change the zoning, and the Red Bulls
needed to convince area residents
they’d be good neighbors. In response
to concerns about invasive lighting,
for instance, they brought in a stadium
lighting expert to demonstrate how
targeted newer lights are. That came
amid months of meetings, starting with
the outreach to neighbors in an event
held at the nearby Westin, followed
by continuous meetings between club
representatives and the community,
by phone or in person — and even at
residents’ homes when requested.
Byrd, for her part, said the team
studied daytime and nighttime use
“to minimize how much of the facility
The First Team locker room at the RWJBarnabas Health Red Bulls Performance Center
is equipped with hot and cold plunge pools, a physical therapy pool and a sauna, among
other facilities.
the neighbors were actually seeing in
terms of that roof line peeking above
the trees.” The property is contoured
to block the soccer pitches from view,
Racioppi said, and the high netting
around the pitches blends in with its
surroundings.
“The way it’s built, you see right
through it,” Racioppi said, also noting
that the Red Bulls loved the location
because the drive up offers “a grand
entrance.”
As for traffic, Byrd said that, when
Honeywell was at the site, “it was
an office building where you had
hundreds of cars coming in each
day.” Around 110 people will staff
the new facility, which was built by
March Construction on an accelerated
timeline to accommodate teams for
the 2026 World Cup.
“When we were approached, it was all
about creating a new training facility
and headquarters for their team, and
they really wanted a place where they
could bring everyone together under
one roof,” Byrd said. But that would
have meant a three-floor building.
Instead, the club kept its headquarters
in Harrison so the Morris Township
L I N C O L N L O G I S T I C S
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VALLEY COTTAGE, NY
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Newmark | Licensed Real Estate Broker | 201 Route 17 North, Rutherford NJ 07070 | t 201-842-6700. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified and no guarantee, warranty
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