Calling it a more collaborative and digitally connected workspace that will help improve engagement and innovation — and do it in an environment conducive to a hybrid workforce — officials at Sanofi on Monday celebrated the announcement that the company is moving 1,900 employees from Bridgewater to M Station in Morristown.
“The relocation of Sanofi’s flagship location within New Jersey gives us the opportunity to provide our people with more collaborative and digitally connected workspaces,” the company said in a statement. “This exciting move will allow us to improve our engagement, innovation and patient-centered solutions, while incorporating our flexible work environment.”
Sanofi, the Paris-based multinational pharmaceutical and health care company, also said the move shows the company’s commitment to New Jersey.
“Sanofi has long been an integral part of New Jersey’s vibrant life sciences industry, and our continued investment with these two new, modernized workspaces reaffirms our commitment to the state,” it said.
The move is a big win for Morristown and the M Station property, which was developed by SJP Properties in partnership with Scotto Properties.
M Station features two cutting-edge office and retail buildings, the first of which, M Station East, is occupied by Deloitte. Sanofi will be the sole tenant of M Station West, a 260,000-square-foot facility.
Steve Pozycki, founder and CEO of SJP Properties, said the announcement is an affirmation of the property — and just the latest example of the forward-thinking of Morristown and its mayor, Tim Dougherty.
“Every town needs a symbiotic blend of high-quality office, residential and retail development in order to create a thriving local economy,” he said. “Mayor Dougherty and his administration understood the necessity of bringing high-caliber corporate tenants to Downtown Morristown, which offers an energized nightlife, but lacked the daytime foot traffic critical to supporting local retailers that are the lifeblood of the community.”
SJP also is currently building a new headquarters for Valley Bank in a different part of town.
“Over the past three years, SJP’s developments have welcomed three major corporate employers — Deloitte, Valley Bank and now Sanofi — and thousands of employees, to Morristown, bolstering the retail market and proving that companies want new, live/work/play environments in transit-oriented downtowns in order to successfully attract and retain the best talent,” Pozycki said.
Sanofi’s move to Morristown is expected to take place in two phases — one that will take place in the fourth quarter of 2024; and one that will take place in the first quarter of 2025.
The move is part of a global program to modernize Sanofi workspaces around the world. Several sites have recently been opened or renovated with the same spirit: La Maison Sanofi, the company’s global headquarters, in Paris; the Cambridge Crossing site, near Boston, in the U.S.; the Gentilly Campus in the Paris region; and the Carteret Campus in Lyon, France.
