Onyx Kicks Off Life Science Hub at Onetime Merck Campus

One year after purchasing the 108-acre Class A campus in Kenilworth, N.J., for $187.5 million from Merck, a joint venture of Onyx Equities and Machine Investment Group is moving forward with the next phase of its plans to create an international life science and biotechnology hub at the site now known as The Northeast Science and Technology (NEST) Center.

As of the beginning of this year, Merck vacated all but one building.

Matthew Flath, senior vice president, asset management, at Onyx Equities, said in prepared remarks the NEST Center will be a prime location for startup incubation and educational research driven by excellence and ingenuity.

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Based in Woodbridge, N.J., Onyx Equities is a full-service real estate firm specializing in investment, asset repositioning and ground-up development. Since its founding in 2004, Onyx had acquired more than $4 billion worth of diverse real estate assets and executed more than $1 billion in capital improvement projects throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Onyx, the managing member of the joint venture that owns NEST, has formed a strategic partnership with Outshine Properties, a real estate investment and development firm focused on life science and knowledge economy assets, to implement a strategy for renovating and leasing the campus. Renovations are set to begin with the 280,000-square-foot pilot research and development plant—branded as 11 NEST—that will be tailored to meet the needs of life science companies, especially those engaged in biomanufacturing.

Jonathan Scheinberg, managing principal & founder of New York-based Outshine Properties, said in a prepared statement the partnership between Outshine and Onyx will ensure the campus is primed and ready for the world’s most innovative companies to pursue the next stages of global research and development. Scheinberg, who will provide leasing and asset management advisory services to the NEST campus, noted the caliber of the current lab and biomanufacturing space and related infrastructure at NEST is unparalleled nationally. He said Merck spared no expense in the build-out and infrastructure redundancy at its former world headquarters site.

Prospective life science tenants, especially those in cutting-edge research such as cell, gene and immunotherapy, will find the campus facilities will meet their specialized requirements, according to Onyx. The campus also offers robust utility infrastructure capable of supporting advanced data storage and processing capabilities, allowing organizations to leverage technology including artificial intelligence for their research and development.

Current campus highlights

The Kenilworth campus already boasts 2 million square feet of existing facilities, including 1.4 million square feet of state-of-the-art laboratories and biomanufacturing facilities, 500,000 square feet of Class A office space and a vivarium. The property also has more than 30 acres available for redevelopment, a 25-megawatt cogeneration plant and amenities including a heliport, fitness center, cafeterias, conference centers, more than 3,200 surface and structured parking spots and green space.

The 10-building campus was completed between 1950 and 2014 and underwent renovations between 2006 and 2016. Located at 2000 Galloping Road, the campus has direct access to the Garden State Parkway. The property is also in proximity to Route 78, the Route 22 retail corridor, the New Jersey Turnpike, Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port Newark Elizabeth Marine Terminal.