Steve Pozycki, founder and CEO of SJP Properties, spoke Wednesday during a groundbreaking ceremony for Sanofi’s new 260,000-square-foot office at M Station West in Morristown. — Photos by Kathy Cacicedo/Courtesy: SJP Properties
By Joshua Burd
Construction is set to begin on Sanofi’s new 260,000-square-foot flagship office building in Morristown, under the second phase of a high-profile redevelopment by SJP Properties.
The developer on Wednesday hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Morris Street project, known as M Station West, where the French pharmaceutical giant will locate hundreds of employees starting around late 2024. When complete, the building figures to provide Sanofi with an upscale, technology-rich space as part of a plan to modernize facilities across its footprint, while bringing another major corporate anchor to downtown Morristown.
“When you look at what we’ve done, this process and building these office spaces is fully aligned with Sanofi’s global approach to innovating our offices worldwide,” said Stefan Roehr, the company’s head of supply chain, distribution and logistics for North America. “We’re doing this all over the world in order to build a space that is much more conducive to how we work, how we collaborate, how we can work together to ensure that, as our tagline says, we chase the miracles of science to bring key products to our patients and to our customers.
“We feel, with the incredible work that will be done over the next 18 months, this office will give us the capability to do that, to work more collaboratively, to work more innovatively in a digital-enhanced environment while at the same time enjoying this beautiful city and everything that it has to offer for our employees.”
The new facility will also complete the Gensler-designed M Station project, which SJP is building in partnership with Scotto Properties, having transformed the site of a dated strip mall on the edge of the downtown. Deloitte LLP occupies the first phase at 110 Morris St. after opening its own 110,000-square-foot office building last summer, while SJP is also nearing completion of Valley Bank’s new 120,000-square-foot headquarters on Speedwell Avenue in the town.
“Every town needs a balance of high-quality office, residential and retail to create the thriving local environment that we want to see,” said Steve Pozycki, founder and CEO of SJP Properties. “Our new corporate neighbors and their respective workforces will help boost the daytime foot traffic in the town remarkably.”
Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE represented the landlord and tenant, respectively.
Based in Paris, Sanofi currently leases 675,000 square feet at a sprawling campus in Bridgewater, its home in New Jersey for some two decades. M Station West will serve as its main location in Morristown and in the state, while it also plans to take 17,000 square feet separately for its consumer health care team.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sanofi’s forthcoming New Jersey flagship to Morristown,” Mayor Tim Dougherty said. “This strategic relocation will bring nearly 2,000 talented professionals to our celebrated downtown, continuing the positive economic ripple effect created by the arrivals of Deloitte and Valley Bank. As our new neighbors settle into M Station, they will undoubtedly become active members of this vibrant, transit-oriented community.”
M Station’s two buildings will be bridged by a 1,000-car parking structure that includes public parking for the development’s on-site retail. SJP noted that the two buildings are set back 45 feet from Morris Street to create a landscaped promenade and two public plazas with seating, improving the area’s walkability, particularly between the nearby NJ Transit station and The Morristown Green.
“We’re thrilled to see the next phase of M Station underway,” said Reid Brockmeier, co-managing director of Gensler’s Morristown office. “This trailblazing Class A office space here in downtown Morristown is ahead of its time. We’re proud to be designing the next generation of headquarters that will surely make a major contribution to this vibrant community.”
