[vcf-midatlantic] Nokia Bell Labs is moving to HELIX in New Brunswick

[Christian Liendo]

For those of us who have interest in Bell Labs


https://www.roi-nj.com/2023/12/08/real_estate/nokia-bell-labs-is-moving-to-helix-in-new-brunswick/


Nokia Bell Labs will announce Monday that it is moving to the HELIX
innovation center in New Brunswick, where it will use one of the three
buildings planned for the complex as its North American research &
development center, numerous people familiar with the announcement
confirmed to ROI-NJ.

The move is expected to bring approximately 1,000 jobs to the New Jersey
Health + Life Science Exchange (better known as the HELIX), while affirming
the complex as the leading center for research and innovation in the state.

The move also means that Nokia Bell Labs will be leaving its iconic campus
in Murray Hill, one that began as the Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1925 —
and one where researchers are credited with the development of the
transistor, among other major innovations. Ten Nobel Prizes have been
awarded for work completed there.

It is unclear how soon the move will take place.

The new facility will be one of 10 R&D facilities that Nokia has around the
world — but the only one located in North America.

Nokia’s announcement is the crown jewel for a project that had a
groundbreaking with much fanfare in the fall of 2021. At the time, Gov.
Phil Murphy said the hope was for the HELIX to be a showcase for all the
innovation the state has to offer.

Here’s how HELIX will break down:

HELIX 1 will serve as a center for translational research as it will house
both a state-of-the-art facility for the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
Medical School as well as what is being dubbed the New Jersey Innovation
Hub, a place where companies of all sizes can come together on research.

HELIX 3 will be a 42-story, mixed-use building that will include 37 floors
of residential featuring approximately 220 units of housing, as well as
retail.

Nokia will be the sole tenant in HELIX 2.

The New Brunswick Development Corp. is serving as the master developer of
the project, working with SJP Properties.

Work on HELIX 1 already has begun, with an opening set for 2025.

A timeline on HELIX 2 and HELIX 3 could not be determined, but both
buildings seemingly would be in line for an Aspire tax credit. HELIX 1 was
granted a $271 million Aspire credit in February.

The formal announcement Monday is expected to draw a large number of state
and federal officials, as well as prominent business leaders, to the New
Brunswick Performing Arts Center.

Someone familiar with the move, who is not authorized to speak about it
publicly, said the impact of the announcement cannot be overstated.

“This is extraordinary,” the person said. “When you think about a name and
entity like Bell Labs not only recommitting to New Jersey but doubling down
in many regards and embracing the vision for an innovative economy that the
governor laid out at the beginning of his administration, it’s a great day
for the state.”