The HELIX NJ project in New Brunswick celebrated a milestone on Friday as the final steel beam was placed atop the 12-story H-1 building in the city’s innovation district that will provide universities, industries, and startups spaces to research, learn, work, and collaborate.
NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka was among the stakeholders and dignitaries on hand for the “topping-off ceremony” at H-1, a $732 million building with 574,000 square feet of space that when fully completed in late 2025 will house the Rutgers medical school, translational research space, and the New Jersey Innovation Hub.
“It’s exciting to see the progress that’s being made in New Brunswick’s innovation district,” Siekerka said. “HELIX NJ is a transformative project that will bring together academia, business and education to create extraordinary opportunities for New Jersey.”
The NJ Innovation Hub’s anchor tenants are expected to arrive in early 2026 and include Rutgers University, Hackensack Meridian Health, RWJ Barnabas Health, and Middlesex County. Princeton University, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Choose NJ are also expected to have a presence on the site, which will include public space connecting the Rutgers campus, the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital District, the New Brunswick Train Station, and the Government and Arts District in the city’s downtown.
Before the beam was lifted, New Brunswick Mayor Jim Cahill noted the effort represented the “heights we can reach when we aim high.”
“H-1 is not just a building and HELIX NJ is not just a complex. It is a statement about the future of the state of New Jersey, Middlesex County, and the city of New Brunswick,” Cahill said.
The HELIX NJ project, which will include a total of three buildings, is being developed by the New Brunswick Development Authority (DEVCO) and its construction partner Jingoli. Together, buildings H-1, H-2 and H3, will have 1.5 million square feet of research and collaborative workspaces where experts and innovative technology will drive advancements in health and life sciences and foster economic growth.
H-2, a 10-story 350,0000 square foot building now in the design and planning phase, will be the future home of Nokia Bell Labs in 2028. H-3 will be a 42-story building – the tallest in Middlesex County – that will provide work and office spaces for smaller organizations on the bottom floors, topped by residential units. H-3 is expected to be completed in 2030.
Last year, H-1 became the first project to win NJEDA approval for up to $271 million in tax incentives under the state’s new ASPIRE program, which was created by the Economic Recovery Act of 2020. Aspire is a gap-financing program designed to support commercial, industrial, mixed-use, and residential real estate development projects, with an emphasis on underserved communities.
To see a video about the HELIX NJ project go here.
