Here is a follow-up to our previous post Save Bell Labs From The Wrecking Ball.
Today, I spoke with Scott Tattar, a spokesperson for Preferred Real Estate Investments, Inc., the new owners of the Bell Labs Holmdel land, which they acquired from Lucent Technologies in 2004. Mr. Tattar said the developers recognize & respect the “legacy” of Bell Labs & the technological advancements that took place under that roof. He said that Holmdel is fortunate that Preferred acquired the land. He advised me to visit the company website to see their commitment to revitalizing communities while respecting concerns of the community.
While on the Preferred website, I visited the “Newsroom” and found an April 2006 article by the Asbury Park Press discussing the use of the property. The company said it “cannot go into a community like a bull in a china shop” & are “very good listeners”. Mr. Tattar informed me that they have already met with members of the Holmdel community to get resident comment. And they plan future meetings. We look forward to Preferred’s meaningfully preservation of a piece of the Bell Labs legacy for the Holmdel community and the greater American and international community. We hope they support an official recognition of the site’s historical significance.
It should be noted that the building also has architectural significance. It was designed in 1959 by famed architect Eero Saarinen (designer of the St. Louis Gateway Arch), who used an innovative reflective glass exterior which was later to become standard on commercial office buildings.
We will continue to follow this story and we encourage all to email either Sellsius°, Engadget or Preferred with your thoughts and ideas about how to best preserve this great piece of Tech History.
Thank you all for your insight and support.
Update: Article from The Independent, July 5, 2006 talks about PREI meeting with Holmdel residents.
From PREI:
Dear Paul,
Thank you for your comments and your interest in the future of the Lucent
facility in Holmdel, New Jersey. Preferred Real Estate Investments is
committed to listening to community voices and collaborating with local
residents and municipalities. Like you, we have great respect for the vast
technological innovations developed at the Holmdel site and the historic
significance of the property.
We are extremely sensitive to preserving this vast heritage. It was, in
fact, the rich history, pastoral beauty and legacy of invention that first
attracted us, and is most important to us moving forward. In this spirit, we
must also serve the needs of the township to ensure the success of our
redevelopment efforts. A museum or similar use of the existing structure
will not achieve this goal.
Bell Labs was about looking forward. We wish to continue this
forward-thinking tradition, embodied by the countless inventors and Nobel
laureates who passed through Holmdel, the architect Eero Saarinen, and the
residents of this beautiful town. We pledge to do more than merely erect a
plaque to past achievements; we will save as much of the building as
possible, and incorporate a gallery space that pays tribute to both the
building architecture and the technological innovations created within.
We believe the best way to honor the past is to bring commerce back to the
site ‹ to repurpose the existing infrastructure for the modern age, while
preserving the site layout and landscape design. Preferred is not in the
business of erecting shopping malls or strip centers; we are commercial
redevelopers, we take our business very seriously, and we take the needs of
the communities in which we develop with equal sincerity.
……………….
Jon A. Bjornson
Director of Communications
Preferred Real Estate Investments, Inc.
pj - thank you!
-rdb°