Nokia Bell Labs broke ground Sept. 4 on a 10-story research and development center at HELIX NJ that is expected to help reinvigorate the city and boost the state’s reputation for innovation.
The 370,000-square-foot building will house 1,000 employees who will work on wireless and optical technology, semiconductors, quantum computing and machine learning.
The building is scheduled to open in 2028. Nokia Bell Labs will be the sole occupant of the building.
Nokia executives were joined by Gov. Phil Murphy and other state and local officials for the occasion. Murphy has been an advocate for the state’s innovation sector since he took office in 2018. The HELIX project is one of 12 innovation centers the administration has supported.
The Nokia Bell Labs building project is widely seen as successor to the storied Bell Labs, where scientists in Murray Hill and later in Holmdel made groundbreaking discoveries in modern communications, including the first cellphone.Â
The Nokia building will be part of the HELIX project, a $731 million science center whose other tenants include Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. HELIX is short-hand for Health and Life Science Exchange.
SJP Properties is developing the Nokia office and the EDA is providing about $104 million in tax credits.
