The fabled Bell Labs of Holmdel, New Jersey, will not be developed by Preferred Real Estate Investments (PREI). The Pennsylvania redevelopment company had signed a contract to purchase the land from Lucent Technologies, the current owner of the historic property, which houses one of the great commercial buildings designed by famed architect Eero Saarinen. They decided not to close on the property.
We had gotten personally involved in the story after reading this New York Times article. We wrote this post and thanks to the help of Ryan Block’s Engadget’s post, the property received worldwide attention.
The case showed us the power of blogging. Without Engadget’s efforts, we might be parking on the site right now.
Source: Asbury Park Press.
Here is the history of the Bell Labs story as it unfolded:
Help Save Bell Labs From The Wrecking Ball
Sellsius & Engadget Team to Save Bell Labs
Real Estate Developer Sensitive to Holmdel Lab Legacy
Bell Labs: Notable Bloggers Comment on the Story
Bell Labs Update: Letter from Re-Developer PREI
Bell Labs Focus Of Preservation Magazine
Bell Labs Update: Community Meeting August 30
Blog Readers Save Bell Labs: Developer Plans World Class Site
Bell Labs Rescue Reported by The New York Times.
Technorati Tags: Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ, Eero Saarinen, PREI, New Jersey
