The groundbreaking for Nokia Bell Labs’ new research and office tower in New Brunswick was a celebration of not just the company’s legacy of collaboration in New Jersey, but the public-private partnerships that have brought the project to life.
A new facility focused on commercializing scientific research is coming to the HELIX — the acclaimed campus under construction in downtown New Brunswick — under a partnership announced this week by state officials and Nokia Bell Labs, a future tenant at the site.
New Brunswick Development Corp. on Friday welcomed a crowd of public officials and other well-wishers to the site of its high-profile HELIX project, joining a large team of laborers to top out the first of three buildings at the planned life sciences and technology campus.
The news that Nokia Bell Labs will build a new research and development hub in downtown New Brunswick — ensuring that it remains in New Jersey — was undoubtedly triumphant. But it was not lost on Gov. Phil Murphy that the company would be leaving its home of more than 80 years in the Murray Hill section of Berkeley Heights and New Providence.
The historic deal to bring Nokia Bell Labs to New Brunswick was nearly a year in the making, beginning in earnest with the company’s visit to a four-acre construction site downtown.
Nokia Bell Labs will break ground in 2025 on its new 360,000-square-foot facility in downtown New Brunswick, executives said Monday, as they hailed a project that will allow it to remain at the forefront of innovation while boosting its appeal for the state’s future talent pool.