By Joshua Burd
Vision Real Estate Partners has completed the first phase of improvements at a Whippany office park, following its sale of the campus last year to Barclays Capital.
The developer on Friday detailed the upgrades at the three-building complex, now known as Barclays Village, including a gut renovation of a 175,000-square-foot building. The firm also touted the completion of a new standalone amenities center as part of the multimillion-dollar project.
The news comes 14 months after the joint venture of Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners sold the 525,000-square-foot, 65-acre campus to Barclays. The bank was an anchor tenant at the time and acquired the property as part of a planned expansion, while retaining VREP to oversee a retrofit and expansion.
The firms recently gathered at the campus, located at 115 South Jefferson Road, to unveil the first round of upgrades.
“Barclays Village continues to serve as an ideal example of the reinvention of New Jersey’s suburban office market and our work at Vision in creating distinctive work/play environments,” said Ross Chomik, managing partner of Mountain Lakes-based VREP. “We are pleased to celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Barclays and state and local leaders and proud of the ever-evolving success of this transformed asset.”
VREP and Rubenstein acquired the complex, a former Bear Stearns campus, in 2013 and immediately launched a multimillion-dollar revitalization. The firms had leased up two buildings and rebranded the site as The Crossings at Jefferson Park when Barclays, which was mulling an expansion, inquired about buying the entire property.
Vision’s ongoing work for Barclays Capital included the renovation and installation of a new façade at the remaining office property, Building 400, along with the addition of a 1,100-space parking deck behind the building.
The developer has also touted the addition of modern offices and collaborative workspaces, plus a pool table, game room and a salon. The new amenities center, a former utility building, includes expanded gourmet dining and farmer’s market offerings, a new 10,000-square-foot day care center and a 6,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center with new equipment and massage therapy facilities.
VREP also redesigned the landscaping and connecting walkways for Buildings 400 and 100, according to a news release. Barclays Village features a bike share station and bike storage, with 1.3 miles of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure that connects directly to the Morris County Parks Commission’s Patriots Path.
“Barclays Village epitomizes the best in a lifestyle-focused workplace that promotes wellness and collaboration,” said Chomik, who joined Sam Morreale and Chris Galipo of VREP along with Barclays Capital group CEO Jes Staley and Paul Compton, chief operating officer, for the recent ribbon-cutting event.
(Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story included an outdated rendering, which has since been removed.)
