New upgrades at the 24-story, 415,000-square-foot 1 Tower Center in East Brunswick include a redesigned seven-story atrium lobby. — All images courtesy: Newmark/American Equity Partners
By Joshua Burd
The leasing team at a well-known East Brunswick office tower has taken the wraps off a newly completed, multimillion-dollar upgrade of the 415,000-square-foot building.
The property, 1 Tower Center, is a familiar sight to drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike and in the immediate area, part of a distinctive complex on the northbound side of Route 18. It now boasts a redesigned seven-story atrium lobby, a renovated café, a new 15th-floor amenities center and other enhancements that were unveiled this week by brokers with Newmark and the landlord, American Equity Partners, which acquired the 24-story tower in 2019.
They did so while touting continued leasing momentum, citing a full-floor, 24,325-square-foot commitment by RK Pharma and a 10,000-square-foot transaction with Office Evolution, among others.
“Our firm has a deep history in modernizing select office properties throughout the area, and we brought that expertise to upgrading 1 Tower Center,” said David Elkouby, a principal of American Equity Partners. “Since this asset helps define the local skyline, we knew we needed to implement a full-scale renovation project, elevating the property to cater to the future workforce.”
SLIDESHOW: Inside 1 Tower Center
Central to that renovation is the new amenities floor, which has a modern fitness center with locker rooms and a tenant lounge with a coffee bar, games, conversation areas, a golf simulator and a theater and entertainment room, according to a news release. The floor also contains a renovated conference facility that can accommodate small groups, board room meetings, town hall gatherings of more than 200 people and a new 10,000-square-foot co-working space.
Other elements include an improved seven-story covered parking deck with digital availability indicators. Additionally, the revamped café offers outdoor seating.
Newmark Senior Managing Director Jamie Drummond, Executive Managing Director Stephen Tolkach, Managing Director Adam Silver, Managing Director Dan Reider and Associate Director Andrew Perrotti represent ownership as the building’s leasing agent.
“Ownership has brought unparalleled amenities and new services to 1 Tower Center that position it as the modern workplace,” Drummond said. “The unveiling of the 15th-floor amenities coupled with the upgraded lobby and common spaces have certainly helped our leasing efforts as we’ve signed nearly 40,000 square feet of new tenants at the property in the last 90 days and have strong interest from several additional potential tenants.”
Located off Exit 9 of the Turnpike, 1 Tower Center is one of two 24-story office buildings within the 14-acre Tower Center complex. The structures are connected by the 405-room Brunswick Hilton Hotel and Conference Center at the nexus of routes 1 and 18, while the campus offers an on-site Suburban Transit bus terminal and will soon have shuttle service to the New Brunswick train station.
Other recently signed tenants by the Newmark team include DK Solutions and Seleccion Consulting LLC, which are leasing 2,500 and 3,100 square feet, respectively. The brokers are now marketing additional spaces that can accommodate users needing 3,000 to more than 150,000 square feet.
