Morristown welcomes Sanofi and 1,900 jobs as final phase of M Station project takes shape
MORRISTOWN — Officials welcomed another business to the rapidly developing downtown area Wednesday when French healthcare company Sanofi broke ground on its new flagship location for 1,900 New Jersey employees.
Elected town and regional officials joined developers and other local dignitaries in the Deloitte building on Morris Street to mark the start of work on the neighboring M Station West site. Sanofi is planning to move into the space in approximately 18 months, said Stefan Roehr, the company's global head of supply chain in North America.
"We are delighted to be able to come here to call Morristown our home in the future," Roehr said. He added that the company is looking forward to working with the town "to make sure that we really revitalize and help Morristown to the best of our ability."
The new building will complete of Morristown's M Station project. The multi-phase initiative, developed by SJP Properties in partnership with Scotto Properties, broke ground in November 2020 and, when finished, will feature more than 350,000 square feet of office and retail space across two buildings. Town officials have previously stated that the project should bring in about $1 million in annual tax revenue.
The complex, situated between the NJ Transit rail station and the Morristown Green, is on land first eyed for redevelopment in 2008. Local officials have hailed it as the town's most significant commercial project in 30 years.
"Our vision for M Station was to create a work environment that's centered around excellent transportation, great retail and many cultural institutions," said SJP Properties founder and CEO Steve Pozycki. "Every town needs a balance of high-quality office, residential and retail to create the thriving local environment that we want to see."
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Sanofi announced in March that it would move its New Jersey headquarters from Bridgewater to the M Station West building along with all of its New Jersey employees. The east building is home to Deloitte, which relocated its operations from Parsippany last fall.
Sanofi is the third major company in the past three years to announce a move to Morristown, joining Deloitte and Valley National Bank on Speedwell Avenue.
The move is especially meaningful for Morristown Council Vice President Nathan Umbriac, who has been with Sanofi for the past 17 years and lived in town for 15. He envisions a mutually beneficial partnership between the employees, who will be working in a walkable area, and the businesses in town.
"It's great for me to be able to walk to work, but I think it's great for the community," Umbriac said. "Between Deloitte, Sanofi and the new headquarters for Valley National Bank, it brings a lot of foot traffic, people that can spend money in the town and add to the vibrancy of the downtown, so it's a win-win."
Mayor Tim Dougherty praised the SJP and Scotto developers for bringing such significant companies to the area. He highlighted the work by Pozycki, calling him "the best partner for development in Morristown that I've experienced in 14 years as mayor."
"Morristown's become a beacon for this type of investment for our community and our residents to keep us moving forward," Dougherty said.
Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.
Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Morristown NJ breaks ground for Sanofi in M Station project
