Posted by Janet B. Stroud — October 13, 2022 — Professional real estate and investment management services firm JLL announced in September that Flex by JLL, its enterprise-grade flexible space solution, has entered into a leasing agreement with Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (MUST), said to be the first pure-play U.S. office REIT listed in Asia, for the opening of a 15,407-square-foot flex office and coworking space at 500 Plaza Dr. in Secaucus, New Jersey. Reflecting the evolving state of real estate, this opening will mark the first official ground-up Flex by JLL space to come to market in the U.S.
Anastacia Anderson, vice president of Investor Partnerships, Flex by JLL, shakes on the deal with Tripp Gantt, CEO of MUST. Image courtesy of Manulife
The new Flex by JLL space in Secaucus will offer flexible private offices, coworking space, meeting rooms, team suites and virtual offices to organizations and residents in the region. The space includes ergonomic furniture, Tier 1 fiber broadband internet access, interactive client portals to book meeting rooms digitally, an on-site hospitality team and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment.
The space’s location within 500 Plaza Dr., an 11-story office property situated within Harmon Meadow, offers tenants a variety of on-site amenities and provides convenient access to the New Jersey Turnpike, Route 3, and surrounding hotels, restaurants and retail.
Flex by JLL is an enterprise-grade flexible space solution that creates value for investors and is rooted in market due diligence, occupier demand and asset strategy. Flex by JLL creates and manages custom flexible space programs that are tailored to an asset’s tenants and market dynamics; investors can own and maintain control of the entire tenant experience within their building as well as the flex site’s revenue streams and value.
Jacob Bates, head of Flex by JLL, remarked:
We are excited for our new Flex by JLL location at 500 Plaza. This location will include both coworking space and enterprise flex suites. Completed by our Flex by JLL design team, the space will incorporate components of our evolving environments and flexible architecture design ethos, offering flex tenants and members the ability to flex the built environment to their physical needs. This partnership between MUST and Flex by JLL creates a symbiotic relationship and allows Flex by JLL to manage the flexible spaces while MUST maintains control of the space, experience, tenants and revenue.
Tripp Gantt, chief executive officer of Manulife US REIT, stated:
We believe Flex by JLL to be the ideal operator for MUST to partner with at this stage, given the existing relationships between the two parties spanning facility management, capital markets brokerage, leasing and development services. We believe this partnership will generate accretive, risk-adjusted returns that are superior to the alternative of pursuing traditional leases in the space.
After the space’s opening in Q2 of 2023, Flex by JLL will have the opportunity to lease an additional 20,451 square feet in two phases within the year.
JLL’s 2,300 property management experts in the U.S. provide comprehensive real estate services in more than 3,800 buildings totaling more than 745 million square feet. The Fortune 500 company has operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 102,000. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated.
