Publisher Opens New 400,000-SF HQ

HOBOKEN, NJ-Founded in New York way back in 1807 when the republic was still brand new and based in Manhattan ever since, publisher John Wiley & Sons has now officially taken up residence across the Hudson River in this waterfront city in New Jersey. The company now calls Waterfront Corporate Center home, occupying 400,000 sf of one of the two identical 550,000-sf, 14-story buildings that make up the new 1.1 million-sf class A complex. The project is being developed by SJP Properties of Parsippany, NJ.

“Our new offices support Wiley’s collaborative culture and provide cost-effective space with room for expansion,” according to company president and CEO William Pesce, speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony late last week. Altogether, some 900 employees are involved in the move by Wiley, whose core businesses include professional and consumer books; scientific, technical and medical journals; encyclopedias; and online products and services.

Waterfront Corporate Center is the centerpiece of the 50-acre South Waterfront redevelopment in Hoboken. The master-planned community, which will eventually total some 2.3 million sf of commercial, retail and residential space, is being created through a public-private partnership involving the City of Hoboken, the Port Authority of NY/NJ and SJP Properties. The Port Authority began the process three years ago by upgrading the surrounding infrastructure and renovating a pier that was converted into a park.

“Our goal is to help communities like Hoboken with development plans that strengthen the region’s economy and provide better opportunities for people throughout the region,” according to PA chairman Jack G. Sinagra.

Besides Wiley, other tenants at the first Waterfront Corporate Center building include Sumitomo Trust USA, LibertyView Capital Management and Mizuho Securities, each of which will occupy an entire floor, or about 37,000 sf. The second building, still under construction, is slated for completion in about a year, when Marsh & McLennan will similarly move 1,200 employees across the river. The first floor of each building, 50,000 sf altogether, will be occupied by retail businesses.

“We were able to satisfy the key objectives in Wiley’s search,” according to Steven J. Pozycki, chairman of SJP Properties. “They included remaining in close proximity to New York City to maximize employee retention during the relocation.”

Waterfront Corporate Center, which runs parallel to the Hudson with some 400 feet of river frontage, is also situated adjacent to the newly renovated Hoboken Terminal, which provides direct ferry service to Manhattan, and has close proximity to several other modes of transportation.

“Commercial office development on the North Jersey waterfront is balancing the amount of professionals commuting between New York and New Jersey,” points out Arthur E. Imperatore, Jr., president of NY Waterway, which operates the ferry service.