New Labs Will Add To Rebirth Of Ex-Roche Site In Nutley, Clifton

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A four-story “speculative laboratory” building and a flagship facility for Quest Diagnostics will soon go up at the former Hoffmann-La Roche property on the border of Nutley and Clifton, developers say.

Bloomfield-based developers Prism Capital Partners released some details about the new lab spaces earlier this week. Together, the facilities will add 400,000 square feet of space to the 116-acre campus, which Prism Capital has dubbed “ON3.”

• See related article: Ex-Roche Site Is Booming In North Jersey

“This state-of-the-art facility will be New Jersey’s first spec lab in recent history and answer the market’s sustained demand for modern R&D space,” said Edwin Cohen, a principal partner at Prism Capital. “We already have leased up approximately 500,000 square feet of existing lab space at ON3, with continued strong interest. Simply put, more lab inventory makes sense, and this first spec project will truly be a milestone for the campus.”

In addition, information service provider Quest Diagnostics will break ground imminently on a “flagship laboratory” located on a 12-acre parcel, Prism Capital stated.

The 250,000-square-foot, owner-occupied lab will become the largest in Quest’s network of more than 20 major laboratory facilities across the country, and will employ more than 1,100 people. The facility will incorporate “innovative uses of building design and automated technology” to provide a range of advanced diagnostic information services, developers said.

Both the Quest facility and spec lab will benefit from ON3’s existing infrastructure, including its central utility plant with a 10-megawatt cogeneration facility, developers said.

Cohen said that the expansion of R&D facilities at ON3 signals the region’s “continuing rebirth of life sciences and biotech” on a site that was once home to pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche.

Quest Diagnostics and future tenants of the spec lab building will join a growing hub of industry leaders in life sciences and biotech at ON3. In 2018, the new Hackensack-Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University opened its doors at 123 Metro Boulevard. Seton Hall University’s Graduate College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences are located at 123 Metro Boulevard as well, and Hackensack Meridian is creating a National Institutes of Health-designated Clinical Research Center at the property.

ON3 also serves as home to biofabrication company Modern Meadow, which moved into its laboratory at 111 Ideation Way in 2017.

In addition, the Ralph Lauren Corporation recently signed a full-building lease at ON3. The company will move its New Jersey hub to 100 Metro Boulevard, supported by a $33 million Grow NJ grant.

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• See related article: Ralph Lauren Coming To Ex-Roche Site In Nutley; 200+ Jobs Expected

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