RUNNEMEDE, N.J. — CBRE has arranged the $29.3 million sale of Runnemede Corporate Center, a seven-building, 304,077-square-foot light industrial portfolio in Runnemede, located outside Philadelphia in Southern New Jersey. The sale included four development parcels with the capacity to house 125,000 square feet of new product. Michael Hines, Brian Fiumara, Brad Ruppel and Lauren Dawicki of CBRE represented the seller, Richards & Robbins, in the transaction. The buyer was industrial investment firm Faropoint. Tenants at the property include Stryker Orthopaedics, Cintas Corp., Scotts Lawn Service, GardaWorld and United Rentals Realty.
UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) reported 2 percent comparable sales growth for its fiscal third quarter that ended on Nov. 30, an increase that was fueled largely by 77 percent growth in digital sales compared with the same period a year ago. Despite this growth, the New Jersey-based retailer will continue with its plan that was announced in July of last year to close some 200 stores by mid-2022. According to CNBC, this includes the closing of 43 stores by the end of February. Bed Bath & Beyond also agreed in December agreed to sell its Cost Plus World Market brand to Los Angeles-based private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management. The company’s stock price closed at $21.03 per share on Wednesday, Dec. 6, up from $16.60 per share a year ago. CNBC also reports that as of late August, Bed Bath & Beyond operated about 1,500 stores across the country.
OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — General contractor Unity Construction Services Inc. has completed a 38,000-square-foot office project for regional grocer Key Food’s corporate headquarters in Old Bridge, about 40 miles south of New York City. Key Food is relocating from Staten Island to the new building, which houses open and private offices, conference rooms, a fitness center, an executive suite and a test kitchen. California-based Ware Malcomb designed the project.
By Jonathan Glick, executive vice president, Sheldon Gross Realty Projecting future trends is always challenging, particularly when you’re attempting to do it during a global pandemic. But to date, several promising signs suggest that New Jersey’s office market is moving in a positive direction —sluggishly and bumpily, perhaps — but in an encouraging direction nonetheless. Newly delivered projects can provide insight on where the Garden State’s office market is headed in terms of geography, design, functionality and usage. We offer several examples of 2020 deals that help illustrate these trends. Sheldon Gross marketed and brokered the sale of a two-story 13,000-square-foot office building in Cranbury that featured an appealing location, just off exit 8A of the New Jersey Turnpike. The structure had been for sale and vacant for two years, but its out-of-state owner was willing to wait until a fair market offer materialized, which it did just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. But with the pandemic unleashed on the market, all communication and negotiations ceased. By May, the prospective purchaser had withdrawn from the transaction. It wasn’t until September that a new deal was negotiated with a buyer that intended to occupy most of the building, rather than sharing …
FAIRFIELD, N.J. — JLL has negotiated two full-building industrial leases totaling 81,400 square feet in the Northern New Jersey city of Fairfield. Logistics firm Best Way Trucking Service Inc. signed a lease for 48,100 square feet, and fragrance supplier Excellentia International inked a deal for 33,300 square feet. Howard Weinberg of JLL represented the respective owners, PAN Realty and Patty Brothers Properties, in both sets of lease negotiations.
AVENEL, N.J. — Illinois-based CenterPoint Properties has acquired a 29,366-square-foot industrial building in Avenel, located south of Newark. The building is situated on a 4.3-acre site at 190 Homestead Ave. near the New Jersey Turnpike and Port Elizabeth-Newark. Jordan Avanzato and Marc Duval of JLL brokered the deal. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
SOMERSET, N.J. — JLL has brokered the sale of Avalon Somerset, a 384-unit apartment community in the Northern New Jersey community of Somerset. Built in 2013, the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units with an average size of 1,016 square feet. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, resident lounge and a playground. Jose Cruz, Michael Oliver, Steve Simonelli, Kevin O’Hearn and Nicholas Stefans of JLL represented the seller, AvalonBay Communities Inc., in the transaction. The buyer was a joint venture between Harbor Group International and Azure Partners. Jamie Leachman, Matthew Pizzolato, Amit Kakar and Thomas Didio Jr. of JLL arranged the financing on behalf of the new ownership. The loan was structured with a 10-year term and a floating interest rate.
FLEMINGTON, N.J. — Local developer Jack Cust will undertake a project in Flemington, about 60 miles west of New York City, that will convert the historic Courthouse Square into a 206-unit multifamily building with 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The project is part of a larger effort to redevelop and revitalize the town’s business districts and improve walkability via new zoning ordinances and promotion of shovel-ready development sites. Cust will also renovate and expand the Union Hotel, which has been in operation since 1814, with an additional 85 rooms. Redevelopment of Liberty Village, the 162,000-square-foot outlet mall, is also expected to be part of the long-term plan. Global design firm Stantec is currently compiling visual recommendations for the design of the revitalized downtown area. Their conceptual work utilizes stakeholder feedback, and the firm will offer visual recommendations in early 2021. Completion of the separate multifamily redevelopment project is slated for 2022.
NUTLEY, N.J. — Prism Capital Partners has sold 111 Ideation Way, a 157,000-square-foot life sciences building in the Northern New Jersey city of Nutley. The building, which was fully leased at the time of sale, is part of Prism’s 116-acre ON3 campus that is a redevelopment of the former North American headquarters site of Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche. Prism Capital sold the asset to Chicago-based Harrison Street for an undisclosed price. Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Frank DiTommaso Kyle Schmidt, John Alascio and Sridhar Vankayala of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal.
BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — JLL has arranged a $9 million loan for the refinancing of a 77,875-square-foot industrial facility in the Northern New Jersey community of Berkeley Heights. The property is situated on 4.6 acres near Interstates 78 and 287 and was fully leased at the time of the loan closing. Greg Nalbandian and Michael Lachs of JLL arranged the five-year, fixed-rate loan through First Bank on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture between Camber Real Estate Partners and an institutional investor.