Roseland-based CoreWeave has signed a long-term lease with an Onyx Equities and Machine Investment Group partnership for the entirety of building 11 NEST at The Northeast Science & Technology (NEST) Center in Kenilworth, with plans to convert the 280,000-square-foot former lab and manufacturing building into a data centre.
CoreWeave plans to invest US$1.2 billion, and the Onyx Equities-led venture expects to spend over US$50 million on the project, which will become CoreWeave’s first data centre in New Jersey.
PSE&G, one of New Jersey’s oldest and largest utilities, will be readying the area’s electrical infrastructure to support the energy needs of the data centre facility in Kenilworth.
PSE&G currently serves over 30 large data centres.
“CoreWeave’s commitment to invest over a billion dollars at the NEST campus demonstrates New Jersey’s leading role in Artificial Intelligence, and our innovation strategies are working,” said New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy. “Through collaboration with utilities, government, investors and real estate developers, we’re committed to attracting businesses that will build an innovation economy for the future.
“Thanks to PSE&G, Mayor Linda Karlovitch, the development team at Onyx Equities, Machine Investment Group and CoreWeave, this new data centre will further fuel our state’s leadership in innovation,” added Murphy.
“PSE&G is committed to providing safe, affordable and reliable energy to all of our customers, no matter their location or their energy requirements,” said Ralph LaRossa, Chair, President and CEO of PSEG, PSE&G’s parent company. “This project is a good example of the work that Governor Murphy and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority are doing to foster a new wave of economic development for our state. We are excited to welcome and partner with Onyx and CoreWeave on this project.”
Michael Intrator, Co-founder and CEO, Coreweave, added: “We are incredibly excited to open a next-generation data centre in CoreWeave’s home state of New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy’s efforts have helped spur the creation of an AI ecosystem in the State, and CoreWeave’s announcement underscores that New Jersey is open for AI business.”
In 2023, CoreWeave more than quadrupled its data centre footprint and is on track to end 2024 with 28 data centres globally.
“This partnership positions the NEST campus as a major hub for data processing, AI and biopharma innovation,” said John Saraceno, Co-founder and Managing Principal for Onyx Equities. “CoreWeave will be a key cornerstone of NEST, as life science and biotechnology tenants at the campus will benefit from CoreWeave’s advanced cloud infrastructure to support their AI-driven projects and boost research and development capabilities.”
11 NEST is part of the 100+ acre campus that is purpose-built and zoned for life science innovation and data centres, answering a need for immediately available, turn-key and customisable office, laboratory and bio-manufacturing space in the tri-state area.
Formerly the global headquarters of Merck, the Onyx Equities, Machine Investment Group and Pivot Real Estate Partners group acquired the campus in February 2023 and have since begun work to develop it into a hub of research and innovation in the North East region of the US.