Historic District Application for Bell Labs Site

Somerset Development, owner of the Bell Works project on the site of the former Alcatel-Lucent property on Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel, NJ, has submitted a nomination for historic district designation by the National Park Service for the two million-square-foot building, which previously housed Bell Laboratories headquarters, and the surrounding 472-acre campus.

The National Park Service oversees the National Register of Historic Places as part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. The iconic building was designed in the mid-20^th century by the renowned and internationally acclaimed architect Eero Saarinen.

The application to the National Park Service was prepared by Heritage Consulting Group on behalf of Somerset Development. The nomination noted the structure’s historic modernist architectural and design significance. Also of note is it being the home of groundbreaking research and Nobel Prize winners.

Owners of properties listed in the National Register may be eligible for a 20% investment tax credit for the certified rehabilitation of income-producing certified historic structures such as commercial, industrial, or rental residential buildings. Historic status may also qualify owners for federal grants for historic preservation when funds are available. The site has already been listed on the state’s registry of historic places, dating back to 2007.

Current plans for the Bell Works development are to make it a mixed-use town center, to include residential, retail, medical, and other functions, plus a hotel and conference center and a new Holmdel library. Outside landscaping is underway, and interior work has begun, as well. All plans must conform to various guidelines that the township put in place in response to concerns voiced by residents in recent years. Among them is a mandate to avoid any significant alteration of the historical appearance of the building’s exterior.