Verizon NJ HQ Hits the Market

NEWARK-Verizon is set to put its New Jersey headquarters and two satellite locations in the Garden State up for sale as part of an effort to consolidate its real estate holdings. According to published reports, the 20-story, 450,000-sf headquarters building at 540 Broad St. here is about to hit the market, as are call centers in Madison and Scotch Plains.

A spokesman for Verizon New Jersey confirms the pending dispositions. “It’s part of an effort to streamline our operations,” says the spokesman. “We have too much unused real estate.”

No jobs are expected to be lost in the process. “Our goal is to achieve greater efficiency by bringing more of our employees together in one location,” the spokesman says. “Each of the facilities is currently underutilized, with the Newark building only about half full.”

A total of about 1,600 jobs are involved, broken down as 600 at 540 Broad St., more than 800 at 175 Park Ave. in Madison, and about 150 at a smaller facility in Scotch Plains. Verizon officials say they have started to look for a single location in Northern New Jersey as the point of consolidation.

The outright sale of 540 Broad St., with Verizon completely leaving the building, is one option according to the spokesman. Another would be a sale-leaseback deal, with perhaps as many as 400 executive-level positions, including Verizon NJ president Dennis Bone, staying at the site.

Built in the late 1920s, 540 Broad St. is the one-time home of New Jersey Bell, which is now part of Verizon. At the time of its completion, the 275-foot-high building was the tallest in the state.