Valley Headquarters and Ethan & the Bean

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

Valley's built-to-suit Headquarters celebrates the convergence of a modern workplace with first-floor non-profit cafe, reflecting its community-centric values.

Location

Morristown, New Jersey

Client

SJP Properties, Valley

Expertise

[FPO] Build To Suit [FPO] Headquarters Office Developers Financial Services [FPO] Climate Action [FPO] Sustainability [FPO] Mixed Use [FPO] Retail Centers Strategy [FPO] limate Action [FPO] Retail & Consumer

Opportunity

As people continue to live and work in highly experiential locations, suburban downtowns and main streets across the U.S. are seeing a renaissance, including Morristown, which has experienced a resurgence of commercial real estate activity.

Organizations recognize that high-quality talent seeks amenity-rich, transit-accessible locations for work. Seeking to embed itself in the community, Valley Bank relocated from a legacy corporate headquarters to a mixed-use building in downtown Morristown, New Jersey. The new office needed to provide proximity to walkable amenities, offer a choice of work settings, and showcase the company's commitment to local impact.

Why This Matters

01
Workplace Choice and Culture
Rooted in a culture of belonging, the headquarters responds to the modern workforce’s desire for choice and agency in how people work.
02
Environmental Responsibility
Valley’s mission and commitment to supporting communities underscored the need for sustainable strategies across energy, water, materials, and indoor environmental quality, and LEED certification that enhanced the neighborhood and set a meaningful standard for responsible, high-performance design.
03
Embedded Community Connection
Morristown vibrant downtown demands a development that activates the streetscape, welcomes the public, and draws more engaged users to the site.

Client quote

Solution

Valley’s headquarters meets the needs of today’s modern workforce, serving as both a destination and a workplace for employees.

Gensler's design strategy unites the six-floor office through two sets of communicating stairs that emphasize transparency and visual connectivity. The workplace program is bespoke by floor, offering private offices, open benching, collaboration areas, destination cafés, and focus areas. The fully leased ground-floor retail space encourages interaction between Valley and the greater Morristown community. Three outdoor terraces with operable glass walls and a glass façade enhance the office's biophilic quality, providing abundant natural light, fresh air, and views of tree-lined Morristown.

From brief to build: an initial workplace strategy guided a discovery process that shaped every design decision, from culture to floor plate to outdoor access.

Gensler conducted visioning sessions, a workplace experience survey, leadership, operations, and program interviews, and workshops, drawing input from the full workforce with a focus on employees. Four priorities emerged: the workplace must reflect Valley's culture of belonging; outdoor space must be integrated as part of the headquarters experience; horizontal adjacencies across floor plates must enable quick team connections; and vertical connections between floors must do the same. Those findings shaped a headquarters where cafés, lounges, and amenities are placed where people naturally meet, terraces bring the outdoors in, and communicating stairs reinforce the transparency Valley's culture demands.

Respecting Morristown’s Historic Character

Inside out Sustainability

Gensler's role as both the landlord and tenant architect from the onset enabled the design team to coordinate impactful elements including carbon, energy, water, and waste.

Impact

The headquarters stands as a tangible expression of the company’s values, embodying the harmony between corporate purpose and community impact.

Valley’s headquarters seamlessly activates downtown pedestrian life with the ground-floor public café, Ethan & the Bean, that employs adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The café fosters serendipitous exchanges between two worlds — corporate and community.

What Changed Because of This

01
Sustainable Performance
Valley’s Headquarters earned LEED Gold Certification, including a high-performance envelope contributing to an 18% reduction in energy, and early fixture decisions that improved water and energy performance while avoiding unnecessary embodied carbon impacts
02
Connections Between Corporate and Community
Valley’s Headquarters has become a community asset for non-profits and public-facing amenities. Valley’s spaces support employees and the greater public seeking strong civic connection.
03
Downtown Activation
Valley’s relocation to Morristown contributed to the surge of high-quality corporate tenants patronizing the town’s small businesses, non-profits and lifestyle amenities.

Opening the workplace to the broader community through shared experiences like Ethan & the Bean, the design creates meaningful connections between Valley’s culture and the people and neighborhoods it serves.

Recognition

01

NJ Biz

Named Valley Headquarters and Ethan & the Bean Leader in Real Estate, Construction and Design for its community integration and impact in Morristown

02

CoStar

Recognized Valley Headquarters as the Impact Award Winner for northern New Jersey.

03

NJ Biz

Gensler’s sustainable goals are on display in Valley’s LEED Gold Certified Headquarters, which won the USGBC’s Market Leadership Award.

Team

Project Leadership

[FPO] Janine Intonato

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Roger Smith

Roger Smith believes in the power of design to transform cities and strengthen communities. He brings deep expertise in translating community needs and aspirations into inclusive environments that serve a broad range of people.

[FPO] Janet ristuccia

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FAQ

01

What type of building is this?

Valley Bank Headquarters is a six-story, built-to-suit, mixed-use Class A office building. It includes five floors of workplace, an activated ground-floor retail program, and three outdoor terraces.

02

Who designed this project?

Gensler served as lead firm, providing architecture, interior design, workplace strategy, and sustainability consulting. The developer is SJP Properties.

03

What sustainability achievements does the project demonstrate?

The building's high-performance envelope contributes to an 18% reduction in energy use. Low-flow fixtures and an efficient irrigation system achieve a 44% reduction in potable water consumption. The project earned LEED certification, with the core and shell certified under LEED v4 Building Design + Construction.

04

here is Valley Bank Headquarters located?

The building is located on Speedwell Avenue in Morristown, New Jersey, steps from Morristown's Green and minutes from the town's train station, restaurants, housing, and downtown amenities.

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Related Expertise

Build To Suit Headquarters Office Developers Financial Services Climate Action Sustainability Mixed Use Retail Centers Strategy Limate Action Retail & Consumer

Valley's built-to-suit Headquarters celebrates the convergence of a modern workplace with first-floor non-profit cafe, reflecting its community-centric values.

As people continue to live and work in highly experiential locations, suburban downtowns and main streets across the U.S. are seeing a renaissance, including Morristown, which has experienced a resurgence of commercial real estate activity.

Why This Matters

Valley’s headquarters meets the needs of today’s modern workforce, serving as both a destination and a workplace for employees.

From brief to build: an initial workplace strategy guided a discovery process that shaped every design decision, from culture to floor plate to outdoor access.

The headquarters stands as a tangible expression of the company’s values, embodying the harmony between corporate purpose and community impact.

What Changed Because of This

Recognition

NJ Biz

CoStar

NJ Biz

Project Leadership

[FPO] Janine Intonato

Roger Smith

[FPO] Janet ristuccia

FAQ

What type of building is this?

Who designed this project?

What sustainability achievements does the project demonstrate?

here is Valley Bank Headquarters located?

M Station at Morristown

AllianceBernstein Nashville HQ

[FPO] Fis Headquarters

[FPO] Designing A Community Based Workplace For Valley Bank

[FPO] Convergence Tech Financial Workplace

[FPO] Agency Is the New Workplace Amenity

[FPO] The Future of Work Is Human: Designing for Culture and Experience

[FPO] Designing Workplaces That Work With Your People

Valley's built-to-suit Headquarters celebrates the convergence of a modern workplace with first-floor non-profit cafe, reflecting its community-centric values.

As people continue to live and work in highly experiential locations, suburban downtowns and main streets across the U.S. are seeing a renaissance, including Morristown, which has experienced a resurgence of commercial real estate activity.

Why This Matters

Valley’s headquarters meets the needs of today’s modern workforce, serving as both a destination and a workplace for employees.

From brief to build: an initial workplace strategy guided a discovery process that shaped every design decision, from culture to floor plate to outdoor access.

The headquarters stands as a tangible expression of the company’s values, embodying the harmony between corporate purpose and community impact.

What Changed Because of This

Recognition

NJ Biz

CoStar

NJ Biz

Project Leadership

[FPO] Janine Intonato

Roger Smith

[FPO] Janet ristuccia

FAQ

What type of building is this?

Who designed this project?

What sustainability achievements does the project demonstrate?

here is Valley Bank Headquarters located?

Related Work

M Station at Morristown

AllianceBernstein Nashville HQ

[FPO] Fis Headquarters

Related Reading

[FPO] Designing A Community Based Workplace For Valley Bank

[FPO] Convergence Tech Financial Workplace

[FPO] Agency Is the New Workplace Amenity

[FPO] The Future of Work Is Human: Designing for Culture and Experience

[FPO] Designing Workplaces That Work With Your People

Related Expertise