Bell Works Owners Secure $200M Refi Deal

HOLMDEL, NJ—The owners of the 1.4-million-square-foot Bell Works office complex here has secured a $200-million refinancing deal.

New York City-based Square Mile Capital Management provided the $200 million in financing to joint venture partners Somerset Development Group and Adarsan Holdings for the redeveloped former Bell Labs scientific research center. Meridian Capital Group arranged the financing for the property at 101 Crawford’s Corner Road.

The loan was negotiated by Meridian senior managing director Drew Anderman, SVP Josh Berman and VP Eli Serebrowski, who are all based in the firm’s New York City headquarters.

The Bell Works financing deal was among a total of $500 million in recent deals announced by real estate investment management firm Square Mile Capital.

“Having bought the property vacant only four years ago, the sponsorship had a vision that no one else saw—the concept of the ‘Metroburb,’ an urban oasis in a suburban setting. In an incredibly short period, sponsorship leased nearly 1.4 million square feet of office and retail space,” Meridian Capital’s Anderman says.

He adds that with Bell Works nearly 100% leased, the refinance deal allows the sponsorship to finish building-wide capital improvements, fund tenant improvements and leasing commissions and pay off existing debt.

The redeveloped property features technology tenants iCIMS and WorkWave, as well as other credit tenants such as Guardian Life Insurance and Jersey Central Power & Light.

The property is comprised of four separate six-story buildings connected via open space walkways and a grand pavilion. The ground floor, known as “The Block,” features shops and restaurants for building tenants and the neighboring community. Bell Works is located on 236 acres and features more than 4,000 parking spaces.