Famed Bell Labs leaving historic headquarters to move to New Brunswick

Nokia’s research arm, Nokia Bell Labs, announced Monday it will leave its historic headquarters in Murray Hill over the next five years to relocate to a new tech hub being built in New Brunswick.

The research and development company’s new headquarters will be located at the HELIX innovation center in New Brunswick, according to a Nokia press release. Originally known as “The Hub,” the HELIX innovation center is a large complex being built in the city’s downtown on the site of the former Ferren Mall.

Bell Labs will leave its current Union County facility and use one of the three buildings planned for the New Brunswick complex as its new North American research and development center.

It is a major change for Bell Labs, which has been headquartered in Murray Hill for decades. The historic company is best known for ground-breaking discoveries and inventions, including pioneering the transistor, the laser and radio astronomy and developing the UNIX, C++ and numerous other programming languages.

Discoveries at Bell Labs have helped win numerous Nobel Prizes.

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy said the Bell Labs relocation would help generate “good-paying jobs” in its new host city.

“By announcing its new state-of-the art facility in the Helix, Nokia builds upon its remarkable legacy in the Garden State, a legacy that will continue to produce cutting-edge technologies and contribute to our burgeoning innovation ecosystem,” said Murphy in a press release.

“What’s more, Nokia’s presence in New Brunswick’s growing tech hub will generate good-paying jobs and further solidify the city’s standing as a regional leader in the innovation economy,” said Murphy.

New Brunswick, which has nearly 56,000 residents and a steady stream of commuters, is already home to Johnson & Johnson’s world headquarters and Rutgers University’s largest campus.

“This venture will not only bring economic opportunities to our city, but will also create a hub of creativity and expertise that will undoubtedly contribute to the continued growth and success of New Brunswick,” Mayor Jim Cahill said in press release.

The new facility, which will break ground in 2025, will be developed by SJP Properties with support from the New Brunswick Development Corporation, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the city of New Brunswick.

New Providence Mayor Al Morgan said in a statement he was “very disappointed” to hear through the media that Bell Labs is relocating.

Bell Labs has been a fixture in Murray Hill, a section of Berkeley Heights and New Providence, for more than 80 years. The company began in 1925 as the Bell Telephone Laboratories, a science and communication research arm of the Bell system with ownership evenly split between AT&T and Western Electric.

At its height, Bell Labs was filled with scientists doing groundbreaking research in Holmdel, Murray Hill and other locations. But Bell Labs eventually went through numerous ownership changes.

In the 1980s, AT&T Technologies took over, according to the Nokia Bell Labs website. In 1996, AT&T spun off most of Bell Laboratories and its equipment manufacturing business into Lucent Technologies.

Following a merger in 2007, Bell Laboratories and the former research and innovations division of Alcatel were combined into a single organization. And in 2016, Nokia acquired Alctael-Lucent, merging Bell Labs and Nokia’s research arm FutureWorks.

While much of the Bell Labs’ property is in Berkeley Heights, approximately 45 acres of undeveloped land is in New Providence.

Morgan, the New Providence mayor, said he is working with local officials to find future uses for the property.

“Our priority will be preserving open space, exploring recreation opportunities, protecting environmentally sensitive areas, ensuring that we meet our affordable requirements, and attracting commercial businesses that will support our community,” Morgan said.

Berkeley Heights Mayor Angie Devanney said in a statement Monday she was encouraged to receive a phone call from Murphy offering his assistance to attract a new use for the Bell Labs site.

“I will work with state and local officials, and our neighbors in New Providence, to ensure we fight for what is best for us,” said Devanney.

“If we can head into the next round of affordable housing requirement in 2025 with a plan, it puts us less at risk for massive development,” she said.

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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.