The third tower of the transformative HELIX project in New Brunswick – one that aims to bring 265 apartments, office and laboratory space and housing for medical students – was approved for a $359 million tax credit award under the state’s Aspire program.
The approval was announced Wednesday morning in Trenton at a board meeting of the N.J. Economic Development Authority. (Josh Burd at Real Estate NJ was the first to report the news.)
The Aspire award means the HELIX can proceed with a planned 42-story, 562,836-square-foot tower at the corner of Paterson and Kirkpatrick that will sit directly across from the New Brunswick train station.
Construction should take approximately 36 months. But when it is finished, it will be one of the tallest buildings in the state. Here are four more insights:
- Known as H-3, the building will be a joint venture between DEVCO and Pennrose. It will have four main components:
- The Residences @ HELIX, a 298,390-square-foot residential portion with 212 market-rate and 53 affordable apartments, plus amenities
- A new home for Rutgers University’s Wireless Information Network Laboratory and Energy Storage Research Group, which will consolidate into 33,620 square feet of dedicated research space within H-3
- More than 52,000 square feet of dedicated student housing for Rutgers School of Medicine students, creating a living-learning environment that integrates researchers, entrepreneurs and faculty within the HELIX ecosystem.
The new tower will join the nearly complete H1, which will include the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. H1 also will have translational research space and the New Jersey Innovation Hub, run by Portal Innovations. (Here’s an inside look at what Portal could bring.)
Then there’s H2, which will be the new headquarters for Nokia Bell Labs, will be a global leader in research for decades to come. It recently held its groundbreaking — and is on track to be ready by the second quarter of 2028. (Here’s an inside look at why Nokia Bell Labs feels the new building will spur new breakthroughs.)
DEVCO President Chris Paladino recently told BINJE that the HELIX may be the most important commercial real estate project in state history. (It’s one of the reasons Paladino was recently named No. 1 on the BINJE’S Best: Commercial Real Estate list.)
“By the end of 2028, we’ll have a 1.5-million square feet, an investment of approximately $2 billion and more than 4,000 people researching, working, living and learning on four acres across from the New Brunswick train station,” he said.
