Warren Hill, a ground-up 20,000-square-foot amenities hub at Warren Corporate Center, is the centerpiece of an overhaul by Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners L.P.
By Joshua Burd
A global reinsurance company has leased 315,000 square feet at a sprawling office park in Warren, following a highly touted overhaul of the campus that includes a new upscale amenity building.
Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners L.P., the owners of what’s known as Warren Corporate Center, announced Tuesday that Everest Reinsurance Co. will relocate its U.S. headquarters to the 176-acre campus. The company will occupy 100 and 200 Warren Corporate Center Drive within the next 18 months, as part of a plan that also calls for it to expand its U.S. operations by more than 80,000 square feet.
The deal is among the top 10 largest office leases in northern and central New Jersey over the past decade, according to Vision and Rubenstein. The developers, which acquired the campus in 2016, hailed the transaction as validation of their effort to reposition the five-building, 820,000-square-foot former Lucent Technologies headquarters off Interstate 78.
CBRE’s Eric Deutsch and Jeff Babikian represented Everest, while Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Donnelly Sr. and Robert Donnelly Jr. represented ownership.
“Our modern workforce demands high-quality office space, which includes exceptional amenities in an environment that activates and echoes their dynamic lifestyles. Our goal is to provide them with an abundant setting where they can learn, grow, and achieve their full potential,” said Sam Morreale, founder and managing partner of Vision Real Estate Partners. “When thoughtfully programmed, suburban campuses like Warren Corporate Center can provide tenants and their talent with the ideal mix of full-service amenities and desirable outdoor spaces — a balance that is difficult to achieve in a more urban location.”
Those amenities and common spaces are part of what’s known as Warren Hill, a ground-up 20,000-square-foot amenities hub that Vision and Rubenstein unveiled late last year. Located in the center of the campus, the building features an outdoor amphitheater, indoor and outdoor patio dining, a full-service cafe with coffee bar and a high-end fitness center with locker rooms.
Other spaces include multifunction conference areas, a full-size indoor basketball court and a furnished roof deck.
Rubenstein and Vision have developed Warren Hill and the other elements of their plan while a large existing tenant has continued to occupy a majority of the campus, according to a news release. The unnamed tenant is working through a phased relocation, creating the opportunity for additional tenants to move into the updated campus.
“We believe we’ve created a fully amenitized and differentiated product that the suburban New Jersey office market is embracing,” said Stephen Card, principal at Rubenstein. “Along with Vision, we have a track record of acquiring high-quality, well-located campuses that we further enhance to fit the needs of major tenants, like Everest, who are using hospitality-enriched workplaces to recruit and retain top talent.”
Vision and Rubenstein — which have brought a similar concept to the Crossings at Jefferson Park in Whippany, now the home of Barclays Capital — are also repositioning a two-building, 700,000-sqaure-foot office campus in Parsippany. At Warren Corporate Center, the firms will build a new four-story glass atrium to connect buildings 100 and 200, with a drop-off lane at the front entry and interior walkways that will be accessible on all four floors.
“After a comprehensive analysis and selection process, the Warren Corporate Center was clearly the best option for Everest,” Everest CEO Dominic Addesso said. “We believe our new home will prove to be both an extraordinary work environment and a strategic business hub for our valued colleagues.”
Vision, Rubenstein unveil high-end amenity building at Warren campus (UPDATED)
