Merrill Lynch campus sells to JV

A joint venture of Ivy Equities and a Philadelphia-based real estate development company has acquired Merrill Lynch's Plainsboro, N.J., office campus in a sale/leaseback valued at $122 million.

Merrill Lynch, which is reorganizing its Plainsboro operation into another office campus in nearby Hopewell, N.J., has leased back the entire 685,000-square-foot building until early 2008. BlackRock Inc., which recently merged with Merrill Lynch's Investment Management Group, has already committed to leasing more than half of the property -- 800 Scudders Mill Road -- for an extended period of time.

Developed in phases from 1985 and 1994, the property is situated on a 50-acre site, and also includes an adjacent site that can accommodate nearly 700,000 square feet of additional office development. The property also connects to the Harrison Conference Center and Hotel, which Merrill Lynch developed and formerly owned.

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