Unilever announced Monday that it is moving its U.S. headquarters from Englewood Cliffs to Hoboken, taking 111,000 square feet at SJP Properties’ Waterfront Corporate Center 1.
Unilever, the world’s sixth-largest consumer goods company, has signed a long-term lease for three full floors at the 111 River St. building, according to SJP. The company is expected to occupy the property in the spring of 2025.
CBRE represented Unilever in the move, which figures to be one of the largest northern New Jersey office leases of the year.
Alexander Erdos, senior vice president of leasing and development at SJP, said the move made sense on a number of levels.
“Unilever made a strategic decision to relocate their North American Headquarters to the New Jersey waterfront from Englewood Cliffs to gain a competitive edge in accessing the vast labor pool in New York City and the surrounding metro area while retaining existing talent with easy access to Bergen County,” he said.
Waterfront Corporate Center, which offers 1.5 million square feet of Class A space in three buildings along the city’s master-planned Hudson River waterfront, has long been considered the premier office and retail development in Hoboken.
SJP Project Solutions, a division of SJP Properties that is dedicated to end-to-end design and construction services, will serve as the project and construction manager and will provide a custom buildout for the tenant.
Erdos said there is a lot to like about the location.
“Strength of ownership, ability to execute a competitively priced, high-quality tenant buildout and best-in-class operations were significant factors in the company’s decision to relocate to 111 River St.,” he said. “Further, Hoboken offers a walkable, safe, transit-oriented experience that tenants desire across all markets.”
Unilever will join the Waterfront Corporate Center tenant roster that includes other leading consumer goods companies such as Lipton, Walmart and Newell Brands.
Notably, the move will come seven years after Unilever moved into its current 325,000 square-foot office in Englewood Cliffs — one it called the “office of the future” when it opened in May 2018.
The sprawling suburban campus was environmentally friendly at every turn — and ahead of its time in adjusting to a hybrid workforce.
Turns out, it was just in the wrong place.
The move to Hoboken follows a trend seen since the pandemic of companies moving to smaller footprints in urban areas.
It’s unclear how many Unilever employees at the current facility at 800 Sylvan Ave. will now report to Hoboken — or how many days a week they will be expected to be there.
Unilever officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment. The story was first reported by Daniel Munoz on NorthJersey.com.
The company, according to the story on NorthJersey.com, will maintain its research & development division in Englewood Cliffs.
The company did not apply for any incentives from the state in connection with the move, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority said.
