PARSIPPANY, NJ — Jones Lang LaSalle announced that it will relocate its New Jersey headquarters office to Metropolitan Center, One Meadowlands Plaza, in East Rutherford, N.J., to be closer to clients and to expand services to growing markets.
The commercial real estate services firm signed a new, 10-year lease for 14,381 square feet of commercial office space with KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II at Metropolitan Center, a Class A, 421,317-square-foot commercial office building.
JLL was represented in-house by Shawn Straka, senior vice president of the firm’s New Jersey office. Building owner KBS Real Estate was represented by Gregory Barkan, senior vice president, with CBRE Inc. JLL is expected to occupy the new space in mid-December 2013.
“We are re-orienting our center of gravity to the Meadowlands to meet the needs of our growing business while maintaining a strong presence throughout the state,” said Kossar. “Metropolitan Center puts us closer to clients and ensures we are strategically located to pursue business opportunities throughout New Jersey and the rest of the New York metropolitan region.”
JLL’s new space at Metropolitan Center will serve as an example of modern office design and as a model for alternative JLL workspaces. The space features a flexible layout with simplified standards that support growth, views and bright spaces that maximize daylight, a balance of private offices and shared workspaces, and formal and informal conference and meeting rooms to foster collaboration.
“We wanted our clients to know that we are taking our own advice by enhancing our own work environment,” said Kossar. “The East Rutherford office will showcase new technologies and the same modern workspace designs that we have promoted to our clients to enhance productivity.”
The company is pursuing LEED Platinum certification for its new location, which includes a centrally located Social Hub where employees can eat, meet and collaborate. The offices also offer a broad range of technology and tools to allow employees to work together in unique ways.
“Our space at Metropolitan Center is an activity-based, progressive environment where employees determine for themselves the most productive way to work,” Kossar said. “JLL focused on a design that promotes collaboration and helps to break down internal barriers between different lines of business. This is a truly dynamic office that offers shared amenities, spaces and settings to bring people together.”
The 14-story Metropolitan Center is a LEED Gold-certified, Energy Star-certified building with first class amenities including covered parking, cafeteria, complementary fitness center, video teleconference center, on-site dry cleaning, car wash and on-demand shuttle bus service to Secaucus Junction train station and local area restaurants and shops. The asset overlooks MetLife Stadium and the American Dream retail and entertainment center and is adjacent to the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel and Conference Center. KBS REIT II purchased the property in December 2011.
Metropolitan Center offers tremendous access to mass transit. Situated off Exit 16W of the New Jersey Turnpike at the junction of Routes 3 and 120, Metropolitan Center is located just 10 minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel and 15 minutes from the both the Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge. Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airport are also within 10 miles, and dozens of restaurants and shopping options are just minutes away at the Secaucus outlets and regional malls.
JLL is a leader in the northern/central New Jersey commercial real estate market, with more than 500 professionals and support staff providing agency leasing, tenant representation, industrial services, strategic consulting, project and development services, property management and investment sales/capital markets services to New Jersey's leading corporate tenants, investors and landlords. The firm, which assists clients from three full-service offices in Parsippany, Iselin (Metropark) and East Rutherford, also acts as local service provider for JLL global and national corporate clients in need of real estate assistance in New Jersey.
About KBS
KBS Capital Advisors is an affiliate of KBS Realty Advisors, a private equity real estate company and SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 1992. Since its inception, KBS and its affiliated companies have completed transactional of approximately $27 billion via 14 separate accounts, six commingled funds, five sovereign wealth funds and five non-traded REITs. For information, visit www.kbscapital.com.
About Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual revenue of $3.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle operates in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services to a property portfolio of 2.6 billion square feet and completed $63 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2012. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $46.7 billion of real estate assets under management. For further information, visit www.jll.com.