Flex by JLL has leased 15,407 square feet at 500 Plaza Drive in Secaucus for what will be a new enterprise-level flexible space and co-working concept. — Renderings courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
Real estate services firm JLL has picked a Secaucus office building as its first new, ground-up location in the U.S. for a flexible space and co-working concept.
The firm on Thursday said it has inked a lease agreement with Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust, or MUST, the owner of 500 Plaza Drive, to open the 15,407-square-foot Flex by JLL space in the second quarter of 2023. The location within the 11-story, 461,525-square-foot property will provide flexible private offices, co-working areas, meeting rooms, team suites and virtual offices to organizations and residents in the region, with ergonomic furniture, fiber broadband internet access, digital client portals to book meeting rooms, an on-site hospitality team and modern audio-visual equipment.
After its debut, Flex by JLL will have the opportunity to lease an additional 20,451 square feet in two phases within the year.
“We are excited for our new Flex by JLL location at 500 Plaza,” said Jacob Bates, head of Flex by JLL, noting that the site will have both co-working and enterprise-level spaces. “Completed by our Flex by JLL design team, the space will incorporate components of our evolving environments and flexible architecture design ethos, offering flex tenants and members the ability to flex the built environment to their physical needs.
SLIDESHOW: Flex by JLL
“This partnership between MUST and Flex by JLL creates a symbiotic relationship and allows Flex by JLL to manage the flexible spaces while MUST maintains control of the space, experience, tenants and revenue.”
JLL described the location as the first official ground-up Flex by JLL space to come to market in the U.S. Its location within the master-planned Harmon Meadow complex offers tenants a host of retail and dining options on site and nearby, while providing them with easy access to the New Jersey Turnpike, Route 3 and other major highways.
“We believe Flex by JLL to be the ideal operator for MUST to partner with at this stage, given the existing relationships between the two parties spanning facility management, capital markets brokerage, leasing and development services,” said Tripp Gantt, CEO of Manulife US REIT. “We believe this partnership will generate accretive, risk-adjusted returns that are superior to the alternative of pursuing traditional leases in the space.”
