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Novo Nordisk HQ Lease Spears $215M Rehab of 800 Scudders Mill Rd.

PLAINSBORO, NJ- Novo Nordisk and a joint venture led by Ivy Equities and LCOR in partnership with Intercontinental Real Estate Corp . will undertake a $215 million redevelopment of a 770,000-square-foot office building at 800 Scudders Mill Road at Princeton Forrestal Center here. It is the largest commercial real estate transaction in New Jersey this year, the companies say.

The building will serve as the new US headquarters for the Danish pharmaceutical company, which will relocate from 100 College Road West in Princeton when the redevelopment is complete in 2013. “This is not a consolidation, this is an expansion,” says Anthony P. DiTommaso, Jr., co-CEO of Montvale, NJ-based Ivy Equities.

The building is being renovated to achieve LEED certification. Construction on the 100% union labor job will begin in September. “This move reflects Novo Nordisk’s growth in the US, and our efforts in delivering leading therapies to diabetes patients and their healthcare providers,” says Jerzy Gruhn , president of Novo Nordisk, in a statement. “This smart renovation keeps us in New Jersey, reduces the impact on our employees as well as the environment, and allows us to meet the expanding need for our medicines.” 

Novo Nordisk has taken a 15-year lease on the entire building, and initially will occupy 500,000 square feet of the space. It can take the balance at any time. The initial lease is an increase of 150,000 square feet over its Princeton location.

The deal was more than two years in the making, DiTommaso says. The building was constructed as a headquarters for Merrill Lynch, which has since decided to consolidate its offices elsewhere.

“It was very important to contract with one user,” as the building was designed as a corporate headquarters building, DiTommaso notes. Knowing that Novo Nordisk was looking to expand, he contacted its leasing representative, Steven Tolkach of Newmark Knight Frank , and work began.

Berwyn, PA-based LCOR and Ivy Equities will completely renovate the facility, built in phases beginning in 1985. Granum A/I is the project’s exterior design architect, while HOK is the architect of record. “The building is quite dated, both the interior and exterior, for the requirements of a European company,” DiTommaso says.

What's Summer in New Jersey, If Not Sticky and Full of Great ...

Surfers of the Pacific may know a good burrito, but their Atlantic counterparts know that crab cakes and beer are tough to top in terms of summer eats. Jersey surfers, in particular, also tend to appreciate the blurry distinction between life on a barrier island and that on the “mainland,” the beauty of surfing in the snow, and sharing stories with friends–both old and new. On Friday, July 22nd, surfers from up and down the New Jersey coast gathered at Tuckerton Seaport to gorge on all of the above at Black Sails Publications and Intercourse Brewery’s Singlefins, Boardwalks, & Storytalks II.

“I always thought the Seaport was a really worthwhile place because it preserves the seafaring history of the Jersey Shore. The people who worked and lived on the water back in the day were the predecessors of the surf community. To me, we owe as much of our history to those pioneers as we do the early waveriders in Hawaii and California,” he said. “I grew up here–crabbing, fishing, boating, surfing in the snow. I wanted to do something that was about our own roots and encompassed the whole coast.” That coast was presently saddled with a 119-degree heat index.

Even at dark, sweat trickled down backs and legs, and coconut water was guzzled en masse. Seth Stafford strategically placed himself in front of the entrance to the Surf Museum so that every time someone opened the door, blasts of refrigerated air offered temporary relief. Despite the swelter, we were all still there because, clearly, Coen was onto something.

Mez began the show and set the mood, which was very much like that of a family reunion boasting multiple generations and lots of inside jokes. When he reached a prototypical snow shot, someone in the audience said, “You miss that, don’t ya?” Mez, who now lives in Florida, thoughtfully said, “I do miss the snow. Yeah, I really do.”

As slides elapsed, Cresitello’s shots of Andy Irons boosting at Manasquan and Sam Hammer’s mental drops brought open-mouthed awe to most people’s faces. Stafford’s water photos and flash work were mind-blowing. He called a picture of Matt Keenan hovering in front of a Ferris wheel his “luckiest shot ever.” Chrisner’s photos of steroidal Jersey waves looked nearly foreign and his hilarious anecdotes made a perfect event finale.

Mez, who was born and raised in Point Pleasant Beach, said, “To me, it’s about getting the tribe together. Surfers, traditionally, we like gatherings. We like talking about our experiences, and Singlefins–you couldn’t come up with a better way to do just that.” It also teaches the younger generation “how deep Jersey surfing roots run,” he said. “You should know your past.” The past keeps the future alive.

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