Army breaks ground on New Jersey R&D park
Picatinny Arsenal to be transformed into a public-private research and development park; one million square feet of office space planned, including 100,000 for high security work; planners look for companies working on technology with both commercial and military applications
Companies looking for a place to hang their hats may want to consider moving to New Jersey. The Picatinny Arsenal, best known as a proving ground for the latest and most lethal in Army weaponry — perhaps you’ve heard of the Picatinny rail? — is currently being transformed into a high-tech research and development park. More than 1,600 military researchers and scientists currently work at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, and last year the Army broke ground for a new $11 million pyrotechnics lab and manufacturing plant there. Weapons geek paradise, you might call it.
Most interestingly, it seems intended with homeland security companies in mind. According to officials there, the Picatinny Applied Research Campus is “designed to attract companies working with technologies that have both military and commercial applications.” More than one million square feet of office space is planned to absorb the demand, with 100,000 dedicated to high security work, and the Army will also provide $1.5 billion in specialized equipment. According to Bedminster, New Jersey-based Advance Realty Group, the real estate firm handling the development project in cooperation with the non-profit InSitech, demand is expected from research universities and emerging technology companies alike.
-read more in Antoinette Martin’s New York Times report
