Ogilvy CommonHealth Stays Put in NJ Home

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Morris Corporate Center III, courtesy of Shea Communications

Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide has decided there’s no place like home: its home in Morris Corporate Center III in Parsippany, N.J. In a lease renewal orchestrated by commercial real estate services firm JLL on behalf of the owner of the 530,000-square-foot office complex, the health-care marketing services firm recommitted to the Class A property with the signing of a lease for 83,500 square feet.

At the four-building MCC III, Ogilvy CommonHealth now has a claim on the entire fourth floor of Building C, as well as portions of the second and third floors. Commercial real estate services firm CBRE Inc. represented Ogilvy CommonHealth in the 11-year lease agreement, which marks a decrease in occupancy for the health-care firm. According to a New Jersey Economic Development Authority document, the company’s previous lease was for 128,000 square feet in Building B and 38,000 square feet in Building C, and was scheduled to expire on Dec. 31.

Developed in 1989, MCC III has been undergoing an extensive makeover at the hands of its owner, which, according to Morris County records, is MCC III ACQUISITION LLC. “The attention to detail from ownership and JLL’s management team had a great deal to do with helping keep Ogilvy CommonHealth at the complex,” Jonathan Meisel, managing director with JLL, said in a prepared statement. JLL has a long history with the property, having acted as both property manager and exclusive leasing agent since 2007.

There are no sure things in the New Jersey office market, as users have a fair amount of square footage to shop these days. Per a JLL report, the average direct vacancy rate for Class A space in the Garden State was 20.7 percent in the third quarter, and it was even higher, 24.1 percent, in Parsippany. JLL and MCC III’s institutional ownership were hardly alone in their bid to keep Ogilvy CommonHealth on the tenant roster; the state got involved, too. It was all hands on deck, particularly since the healthcare marketing firm was considering another option.

“Alternatively, the company would relocate its operations to 636 11th Ave. in Manhattan, to a building currently leased by the parent company of Ogilvy,” noted the April 2016 NJEDA document. “The location analysis submitted to the authority shows New Jersey to be the more expensive option, and, as a result, the management of Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide LLC has indicated that the grant of tax credits is a material factor in the company’s location decision.” NJEDA came through, awarding Ogilvy CommonHealth with an approximately $11.3 million incentive package through its Grow New Jersey Assistance Program.