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CoreWeave acquires part of NEST innovation hub in North Jersey for $322 million

Cloud computing provider plans $1.2 billion data center on property
Cloud computing firm CoreWeave now owns part of the Northeast Science and Technology Center, or NEST, campus in Kenilworth, New Jersey. (Newmark)
Cloud computing firm CoreWeave now owns part of the Northeast Science and Technology Center, or NEST, campus in Kenilworth, New Jersey. (Newmark)
CoStar News
August 1, 2025 | 11:28 P.M.

Cloud computing firm CoreWeave is paying $322 million to acquire the North Jersey property where it plans to invest $1.2 billion to build a data center, marking one of the Garden State's biggest commercial real estate sales this year.

Livingston, New Jersey-based CoreWeave is buying part of the Northeast Science and Technology Center, or NEST, campus in Kenilworth, New Jersey. The overall 107-acre, 2 million-square-foot mixed-use property is the reimagining of the former headquarters of Merck, the pharmaceutical giant.

Last October, CoreWeave, specializing in artificial intelligence infrastructure, announced it would construct a data center at NEST and was leasing a 280,000-square-foot building on the campus for it. Now, CoreWeave is purchasing the portion of the campus that includes that building and the land immediately surrounding it.

Woodbridge, New Jersey-based Onyx Equities and Machine Investment Group, headquartered in New York, bought the Merck campus at 2000 Galloping Hill Road in February 2023 for $187.5 million with plans to reposition it as a multitenant life-science-and-innovation hub. They were represented by Newmark in the sale of part of the site to CoreWeave.

“This transaction underscores the accelerating demand for high-powered, well-located sites capable of supporting AI and cloud workloads at scale,” Doug Harmon, co-head of U.S. capital markets for Newmark, said in a statement.

Onyx and Machine Investment retain ownership of the rest of the NEST property.

CoreWeave didn't respond to an email from CoStar News on Friday seeking comment.

NEST has nine buildings — including office, lab, research and development and support facilities — as well as robust utility infrastructure with a 50-megawatt substation, cogeneration and chiller plants, and a central boiler facility. The property still has 36 acres available for future redevelopment and offers amenities such as a cafeteria, fitness center, conference center, auditorium, heliport, underground parking and on-site management office.

For the record

The Newmark team representing the sellers was led by Co-Head of Strategic Advisory Andrew Warin and Executive Vice Chairman Josh King, in collaboration with Head of Data Center and Digital Infrastructure Capital Markets Brent Mayo, and oversight from Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Doug Harmon and Co-Head of Global Debt & Structured Finance Jordan Roeschlaub.

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