By Joshua Burd
Life sciences companies accounted for nearly a third of all leases signed in New Jersey last year, showing the industry’s continued role in the state’s changing commercial real estate market.
That’s according to a recent report by JLL, which found that “a broad spectrum of companies” from the sector pursued office, research and lab and biomanufacturing opportunities in 2024. The firm noted that pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, fueled by a flight to quality and desire to attract top talent, were the most active segment of tenants in New Jersey for the third straight year, fueling nearly 30 percent of leasing activity in 2024.
Among other examples, JLL pointed to Revlon’s 62,000-square-foot commitment at Onyx Equities’ Northeast Sciences and Technology Center at the former Merck & Co. campus in Kenilworth. The deal, one of several at the property in 2024, will allow the cosmetics giant to centralize its research labs, pilot manufacturing and office operations.
“New Jersey’s diverse, educated workforce, existing lab infrastructure and thriving ecosystem of industry peers will remain among the factors keeping the state on the radar screen for growing life science companies in 2025,” JLL’s Stephen Jenco wrote in the report. “Occupiers will prioritize high-quality spaces in desirable locations to attract and retain top talent, while enhancing productivity. Companies will focus on assets offering the best value and that are in alignment with their long-term corporate goals.”
JLL listed several other major deals by life sciences users in 2024, including:
- RK Pharma Solutions’ 406,670-square-foot lease for lab, office and manufacturing space at 148 Princeton Hightstown Road in East Windsor
- Bristol Myers Squibb’s 181,210-square-foot lease extension for lab, office and manufacturing space at 7 Powder Horn Drive in Warren
- Empower Clinic Services’ 170,270-square-foot lease for manufacturing space at 203 Windsor Center Drive in East Windsor
- Genmab’s 135,480-square-foot expansion for office space at 777 Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro
The report noted that New Jersey’s lab and R&D market in 2024 saw 372,036 square feet in negative absorption, a measure of the change in overall occupied space, while vacancy was 28.4 percent. Yet overall direct asking rent was $29.48 per square foot, up slightly from last year.
