Publishing company moves to Hoboken

Real Estate Weekly, Oct 16, 2002

New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey, Hoboken Mayor David Roberts and Steven J. Pozycki, chairman of SJP Properties, welcomed global publishing giant John Wiley & Sons, Inc., to Waterfront Corporate Center, a 1.1 million-SF, Class A office center located in Hoboken, N.J., at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Arthur E. Imperatore, Jr., president and CEO of NY Waterway, was also in attendance to welcome Wiley.

"We are proud that New Jersey and particularly Hoboken has become the home to one of our nation's oldest and most prestigious companies, John Wiley & Sons," said New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey. "This day was made possible through a well-planned redevelopment initiative undertaken by the City of Hoboken, the Port Authority and SW Properties. Everyone involved in this project has certainly made their mark on Hoboken and will make this New Jersey community an even more dynamic place to live, work and play."

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a company that has made its home in New York region since 1807, has relocated its global headquarters, and more than 900 employees, to a 400,000-SF space in SW Properties' Waterfront Corporate Center.

"We are very pleased with our new global headquarters," said William Pesce, president and CEO of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. "Our new offices support Wiley's collaborative culture and provide cost-effective space with room for expansion. We are proud to be part of Hoboken's culturally diverse community."

Waterfront Corporate Center is the centerpiece of the South Waterfront redevelopment in Hoboken, a master-planned development created through a public-private partnership between the City of Hoboken, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and private developer SJP Properties. In total, the South Waterfront Redevelopment will add 2.3 million-SF of commercial, retail and residential space on three city blocks.

Following Wiley, other firms that have entered lease agreements to occupy three of the remaining four floors of the 550,000-SF building include Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. USA, LibertyView Capital Management Inc., and Mizuho Securities. Each occupies an entire floor,. or 37,000 SF. The first floor of each building, 50,000 SF in total, will be dedicated to retail businesses.

"We are proud to work with this outstanding global publishing company to accommodate its office space needs," said SJP's Pozycki. "We were able to satisfy the key objectives in Wiley's search: remaining in close proximity to New York City to maximize employee retention during the relocation, and providing its employees with a Class A, state-of-the-art environment. Hoboken offers an exceptional community with unparalleled mass transit access and around-the-clock amenities."

The second of two Waterfront Corporate Center buildings is still under construction. Marsh & McLennan will move 1,200 employees to Hoboken in fall 2003, when the second, identical 14-story 550,000-SF office building is completed. The Waterfront Corporate Center runs parallel to the Hudson River, and will consist of approximately 1.1 million SF of Class A office space, 50,000 SF of ground floor retail and a variety of amenities. The site plan for the development will have more than 400 contiguous feet of river frontage, offering unobstructed, 180-degree views of Manhattan.

Featuring a facade of brick, granite and limestone, the buildings were designed to provide a balance between Hoboken's rich historic character and contemporary architectural design. The Waterfront Corporate Center will also be equipped with state-of-the-art mechanical, security and telecommunications systems, including multiple high-speed, high-capacity fiber optic SONET facilities.