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A $215 million redevelopment of an office building in Plainsboro will eventually serve as the new U.S. headquarters for Novo Nordisk, according to an announcement from the company, though it will retain an office in the Princeton Corporate Campus for which it signed a lease in 2008.
Novo Nordisk signed a long-term lease for the entire building, with the initial phase of occupancy in 2013 taking up 550,000 square feet of the 770,000-square-foot building. The company will have the option to occupy the rest of the building at any time.
"This move reflects Novo Nordisk's growth in the U.S., and our efforts in delivering leading therapies to diabetes patients and their health care providers," said Jerzy Gruhn, Novo Nordisk president, 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."
Ken Inchausti, spokesman for Novo Nordisk, said the move will consolidate three of the company's four buildings, allowing for internal staff for finance, human resources and marketing to be under one roof.
"The human proximity will always, in my mind, be critical to how you get business done," Ichausti said.
The renovation, which will include a top-to-bottom gutting and rebuild of the 26-year-old building at 800 Scudders Mill Road, will be executed by Ivy Equities and LCOR, which have entered into a joint partnership with the Danish life sciences company and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp.
According to website of Ivy Equities subsidy Ivy Realty, the building originally was developed by Merrill Lynch for its corporate headquarters. The Montvale commercial real estate firm is the leaser for the building. Steven Tolkach, of Newmark Knight Frank, represented Novo Nordisk in lease negotiations.
Inchausti said renovation of the existing building meets both fiscal and environmental responsibility goals set by the company. The construction does not break new ground, will use existing infrastructure and will attempt to meet LEED certification levels for reusing materials from the original space.
Novo Nordisk, which specializes in diabetes therapies, signed a 15-year-lease at 1100 Campus Drive, in the Princeton Corporate Campus, in 2008. According to Inchausti, the company will continue to use that space for clinical and medical trials.
The new offices, located in the Princeton Forrestal Center, will be able to accommodate 1,500 employees, though 1,100 to 1,200 employees will move to the new office when it opens.
"You're looking at the central hub of the pharmaceutical industry here," Inchausti said of the Plainsboro area. "We've enjoyed a really good working relationship with the Plainsboro community. This is a major talent corridor and we feel very comfortable here — we feel this is our home."
Construction is expected to begin in September, creating an estimated 500 jobs.
In an earlier version of this story, the location of 1100 Campus Drive was inaccurate. The location is corrected in the above story.
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