WAYNE, N.J. — United Parcel Service (UPS) has signed a lease for 118,000 square feet of office space in Wayne. The company will occupy space within a four-story, 140,000-square-foot building located at 1655 Valley Road. Amenities in the building include a full-service cafeteria with indoor and outdoor seating, heavy duty electrical service and a raised-floor computer room. David Simson of Newmark Knight Frank represented the landlord, a joint venture between New Boston Fund and Prism Capital Partners. Tom Consiglio of Resource Realty represented UPS.
SOUTHINGTON, CONN. — Wakefern Food Corp. plans to open a new Shop Rite in Southington. The new grocery store will occupy 60,000 square feet within Southington Plaza Shopping Center, which is located at 750 Queen St. The previous tenant was a SuperValu grocery store, which closed 2 years ago. The new Shop Rite will open as soon as renovations to the space are complete.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Capital Markets has arranged a $38 million loan for a 421,050-square-foot, Class A office building in East Rutherford. Metropolitan Center is a 14-story tower located at 1 Meadowlands Plaza and overlooking the new Meadowlands Sports Complex. The borrower, Strategic Partners U.S. Value V, acquired it in 2008 and recently completed a $15 million capital improvements program. Occupancy was 85 percent at the time of closing. The loan carries a 5-year term and a 25-year amortization schedule. Jim Gunning and Donna Falzarano of CBRE Capital Markets' New Jersey office and John Clifford and Keith Huizinga of the firm's Chicago office secured the loan on behalf of Strategic Partners through lender Northwestern Mutual Life.
NEWTON, MASS. — R.W. Holmes Realty represented the tenant in the lease of office, R&D and production space in Newton. Sloan Valve Co. has inked a deal for an 18,000-square-foot property at 55 Border St. The company manufactures water-efficient solutions. Garry Holmes of R.W. Holmes Realty brokered the transaction on behalf of the tenant and the landlord, Border Realty Trust. Lease terms were not released.
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — Prometheus Research has signed a long-term lease for 11,720 square feet of office space at 55 Church Street in New Haven. The software and research informatics services company will occupy an entire floor at the property. The company provides clients with database services with a focus on biomedical and scientific research. Robert Adnopoz of Colliers Dow and Condon’s New Haven office represented the tenant. Ted Schaffer of Press/Cuozzo Commercial Services represented the landlord, 55 Church Street, a joint venture between The Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund I and Hurley 45-55 Church Street, an affiliate of The Hurley Group. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Complete Body & Spa is opening a 13,640-square-foot fitness club at 301 E. 57th St. in midtown Manhattan. The physical fitness and wellness center will feature a 2,464-square-foot sundeck, an indoor swimming pool with a retractable roof, personal training, fitness classes, massage therapy, acupuncture, nutritional counseling, spray tanning, a sauna, laundry service and a juice bar. The club is expected to open in April.
Recent news: Several large transactions have taken place recently: pet supply retailer PetEdge signed a new 215,000-square-foot lease in Billerica, Dealer Tire took approximately 100,000 square feet in Mansfield, and Harvey Industries signed a new lease for 55,000 square feet in Southborough. A number of new prospects are also looking to capitalize on aggressive rental rates. These include Sonepar, in the market for 180,000 square feet; Horizon Beverage, in the market for 400,000 square feet; and New England Sheets and Horn Packaging, each in the market for 150,000 square feet. Major industrial users leaving the market include General Motors which will vacate 400,000 square feet in Norton and Adidas/Reebok which will vacate an additional 500,000 square feet in Lancaster and Stoughton. Submarket update: Overall, the Metro South industrial market has been hit the hardest, recording its worst metrics in 10 years and posting a 22 percent availability rate at the close of 2009. The strong-performing Metro West Market, which saw nominal adjustments in vacancy rates, absorption and average asking rents, managed to capture several large transactions in 2009, including Genzyme, Verizon and FedEx Smart Post. The Metro North Market posted lower vacancy and lower tenant velocity. Predictions for the next …
STAFFORD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — ULTA Beauty is opening a 10,800-square-foot beauty retail store at Barnegat, N.J.-based Walters Group’s Stafford Park in Stafford Township. Construction is currently under way and completion is scheduled for this fall. Current tenants of the mixed-use development include Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Costco, Target and Best Buy.
HARRISBURG, PA. — AMB Property Corp. has leased 202,200 square feet of industrial space to an undisclosed tenant. The space is located at AMB I-85 Distribution Center in Harrisburg. Terms of the transaction were not released.
BOSTON — Boston real estate veterans Mark Dufton and Scott Oran have formed Dinosaur Capital Partners. The partnership plans to invest private equity in real estate. Dinosaur’s investment strategy emphasizes acquiring core assets with underlying cash flow, opportunistic assets requiring value enhancement and performing or non-performing loans as well as taking preferred taking preferred equity positions to recapitalize real assets. The company will invest in office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, mixed-use and parking properties from $3 to $100 million primarily in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.