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LOOKING AHEAD
Local officials weigh their options amid news that Bell Labs will leave Murray Hill
to be part of the plan.
Devanney said Nokia Bell Labs representatives in 2019 talked about redeveloping the campus with as many as 400 housing units. But that was all preliminary, she said, and the township hadn’t heard anything since. Devanney and New Providence Mayor Al Morgan said the land may also hold potential for both towns to meet court-mandated obligations for affordable housing.
Officials in Berkeley Heights say they also need to balance the redevelopment with other projects in
town. The expansion of the nearby Connell Corporate Park, also along Interstate 78, is about to commence and should be complete before Nokia Bell Labs vacates its campus. That plan includes 328 residential units and 190,000 square feet of entertainment, dining and retail offerings.
A meeting with state officials on the Nokia Bell Labs site could come as early as January, Devanney said. Town officials vowed to be actively involved as those plans take shape.
“We will not sit idly by,” she said.
By Patricia Alex
It was no secret in recent years that Nokia Bell Labs was weighing the future of its historic Murray Hill
campus. But officials in Union County say they were still caught off guard in early December when the company announced that it was moving to New Brunswick.
“We were as shocked as anyone,” said Mayor Angie Devanney of Berkeley
on Nokia’s plans for the campus. But the land is zoned for office and research space, so any changes would need to come before the township planners and zoners. Some of the 15 buildings on the campus, where so many technological advancements were made, also are deemed historic, Devanney said, meaning their preservation might need
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Angie Devanney
Heights, where the bulk of the 200-acre complex is located. Another 45 acres of mostly open space are in neighboring New Providence.
Local leaders are still digesting the news that Nokia Bell Labs will leave town by 2028. The technology giant
is Berkeley Heights’ biggest taxpayer, with a local levy of about $3.2 million, Devanney said. The loss of the iconic research park — which opened in 1941 — will undoubtedly bring challenges, they said, but could also provide opportunity: Redevelopment holds
the potential of meeting the desire for open space and recreation, as well as ratables of a new kind from housing and commercial development.
“Given the size of the campus, I
think there will be some thoughtful evaluation of the site,” said Brian Kraut, head of the economic development committee in Berkeley Heights. “From an economic development standpoint, it’s a big opportunity.”
News of Nokia Bell Labs’ plans to move to a built-to-suit, 360,000-square- foot facility in New Brunswick broke on Dec. 8. On the following Monday, officials from both towns met to
talk about the future of the tract. Devanney said she also received
a pledge of assistance from state officials — namely, Gov. Phil Murphy and Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan — to fashion the “highest and best use” of the site for the township.
Redevelopment, of course, will depend