Page 16 - RE-NJ Aug2020

14 AUGUST 2020
ON THE VERGE
SJP, Scotto eye groundbreaking after sealing approvals for Morristown office project
Adevelopment that will transform a stretch of downtown Morristown — bringing 340,000 square feet of high-end office space and new public plazas — is set to break ground in the coming months after securing final approvals from the municipality.
SJP Properties, which has partnered with Scotto Properties for the project, is eyeing late summer to begin vertical construction on the first of two mixed-use buildings known as M Station. The initial phase will include some 110,000 square feet occupied
by Deloitte LLP, which will move operations from Parsippany under a previously announced lease, along with street-level retail and the first
half of a 1,000-space parking garage.
The developer is also now marketing the second phase, known as M Station West, offering an additional 230,000 square feet in one of New Jersey’s most attractive but undersupplied submarkets.
“This is arguably one of New Jersey’s best towns,” said Peter Bronsnick,
alone when companies are looking for answers that help them set their plans for the next 10 to 15 years.”
SJP and Scotto are moving ahead after securing final planning board approvals in late June. As Bronsnick noted, the firms were in the midst
of the entitlement process when COVID-19 struck New Jersey, but it was important to press on in order to meet the obligations of the Deloitte transaction. The approvals were
also “imperative from a marketing perspective because we wanted to make sure that we could offer M Station West in good faith” as office tenants reconsider their space needs in the wake of the pandemic.
Located along Morris Street between
Lafayette Avenue and Spring Street, the Gensler-designed project will redevelop an existing retail strip center near the Morristown train station. The developers are planning not only top-tier office space, but a combined 33,000 square feet of retail space across the two buildings and major streetscape and infrastructure improvements.
The remaining office space is already attracting interest from a host of users, SJP said, including companies in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors.
“Each feature of this development
— from its distinctively modern architecture and state-of-the-art infrastructure, to its energy-conscious
Peter Bronsnick
SJP Properties’ president
for the New Jersey region. “And these opportunities are few and far between over
the lifecycle of any real estate, let
By Joshua Burd
SJP Properties and Scotto Properties are developing M Station, a mixed-use project depicted in this rendering, which calls for bringing 340,000 square feet of high-end office space, 33,000 square feet of retail space and new public plazas downtown Morristown.
Courtesy: SJP/Gensler