International drugmaker Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals has moved its U.S. headquarters back to a property in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, where it once leased space.
The Irish-based company signed a five-year lease for about 100,000 square feet at Shelbourne at Perryville III, a 288,000-square-foot facility at 53 Frontage Road in Hampton that is owned by Shelbourne Global Solutions, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.
Mallinckrodt’s initial lease at the Hampton building was set to expire at the end of June this year, but in 2017, the company moved out and relocated to 1425 Route 206 in Bedminster, New Jersey, instead, according to Ariel Brenner, Shelbourne's vice president of leasing.
But in an agreement stemming from its bankruptcy filing, which took place in October last year, Mallinckrodt said it would exit its Bedminster site and consolidate at Shelbourne’s property, according to Brenner.
“The 100,000-square-foot floor plate on one floor allows them their staff the ability to alternate schedules due to COVID for social-distancing purposes,” he said.
Mallinckrodt was one of several opioid manufacturers that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year after facing a barrage of lawsuits over their alleged liability in the national crisis caused by the drug’s abuse.
The Hampton office complex is now 90% occupied, according to Shelbourne officials, with other discussions taking place that could push the building’s vacancy rate close to zero during the first quarter. The landlord said despite the pandemic last year its properties, particularly in Hunterdon County, fared well.
“Shelbourne locations weathered the storm well in 2020 but the Hunterdon County site in particular has prospered as interest in living and working along the west New Jersey I-78 corridor continues to grow,” Brenner said in a statement.
Landlord Shelbourne is also investing in the Hampton facility, with plans to upgrade the main lobby and other amenity areas underway.
Due to the success of the Perryville III location, Shelbourne is considering other property purchases in Hunterdon County along the Interstate 78 corridor, according to Brenner. It purchased 53 Frontage Road for $19.9 million in January 2017 from Crown Properties, according to CoStar data.
