The city is happy that John Wiley & Sons is moving 900 employees to Hoboken’s waterfront. On July 1, Wiley’s first day in the Waterfront Corporate Center, an elated Mayor David Roberts greeted employees as they strolled into their new state-of-the-art workplace.
"The economic ramifications of John Wiley moving to Hoboken are going to be incredible," said Roberts as he presented Wiley & Sons’ CEO, Will Pesce, an official proclamation welcoming the highly respected global publishing company to the mile-square city. "I want to be the first to welcome John Wiley & Sons to Hoboken," said Roberts.
Pesce gave Roberts, the press and several members of the City Council a tour of the firm’s brand new facilities.
Wiley and Sons have a long-term lease for approximately 380,000 square feet. They are occupying floors two through eight in the 13-story building.
"Making the decision to move across the river is a big deal for us," said Pesce. After 195 years in Manhattan, the firm has decided to move across the Hudson River and into New Jersey. Pesce said that the choice to make Hoboken its home was several years in the making. "It took us four years to find the perfect location," said Pesce. "We looked in New York, Jersey City and even in the suburbs, but very few places have what Hoboken has to offer."
He added that Hoboken is a transportation hub that offers an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline and a neighborhood feel.
"We wanted to be part of a community," he said. The firm has already made a sizable donation of books to the Hoboken Public Library. "We’re going to have upwards of 1,000 employees working here. There are going to be ample employment opportunities for Hoboken residents," he said.
In addition to the job opportunities, Pesce said that he predicts that many of Wiley’s current employees will eventually move to Hoboken. Wiley & Sons publishes scientific, technical and medical journals. The company generated $613 million in revenue last year.
City Councilman Richard Del Boccio said after the tour of the building that he welcomes the firm to the city’s shore. "This is a great day for the city of Hoboken," said Del Boccio. "It’s a spectacular building and I’m confident that [Wiley & Sons] are going to be a great neighbor."
When finished, the Waterfront Corporate Center, which is being developed by SJP Properties, a Parsippany-based commercial builder, will include two 550,000 square foot office buildings – a total of 1.1 million square feet of coveted Class A office space.
The corporate center, the commercial office component of the Hoboken South Waterfront Redevelopment project, is a mixed-use development that is the product of a unique public/private partnership between the city, the Port Authority and SJP Properties.
After the tour, Roberts said that the opening of the Waterfront Corporate Center is both practically and symbolically important.
"Today, the Hoboken waterfront is entering a new era," said the mayor. "It began as a passive waterfront. Then it grew into an industrial waterfront full of longshoremen and now it evolved to a commercial waterfront that produces jobs and spurs our economy. This is the first salvo of the new era."
He added that the new buildings are going to bring millions in new taxes and the new employees that will provide a boost to local businesses.
"[Wiley & Sons] is going to bring a lot of professional employees that are going to spend money in our restaurants and shop in our stores," he said. "It’s going to go a long way to revitalizing our main street."
Joining Wiley in the first phase of the Waterfront Corporate Center are Japanese bank Sumitomo Trust & Banking, CPR (USA)/ Liberty View Capital Management, and Fuji Securities, each taking one floor.