CIT Bank moved from its Livingston headquarters to Morristown after securing a tax incentive from the state to keep the base in New Jersey. That left a vacant office building at the property. As sectors shift, and empty office space adds up, the site is becoming a logistics asset.
And that transformation into the 293,887-square-foot West Essex Logistics Center has proved successful, evidenced by the sale of the redeveloped space, which was announced by Cushman & Wakefield May 31.
Executive Vice Chairs Gary Gabriel and David Bernhaut, Executive Managing Director Kyle Schmidt and Senior Director Ryan Larkin represented the sellers, Bluewater Property Group and Affinius Capital, in the transaction. The property, located at 8 Peach Tree Hill Road in Livingston, was acquired by Invesco Real Estate. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Delivered at the end of 2022, the modern logistics facility offers 36-foot clear heights, 54 loading docks and two drive-in doors within close proximity to Newark Liberty International Airport, Port Newark/Elizabeth, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, and other crossings into New York.
According to a statement from Schmidt, “Class A or new construction represents a fraction of the Northern New Jersey industrial market’s overall inventory, and it very seldom becomes available for acquisition.”
In its first quarter 2023 Industrial Marketbeat report for New Jersey, Cushman & Wakefield reported that despite a cooling to pre-pandemic norms in Q1, relatively strong demand persisted in the sector benefitting from the growing market share of the Port of New York and New Jersey. And that demand seems poised to persist. For the first four months of the year, the harbor has been the second-busiest nationwide, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Looking ahead, Cushman & Wakefield expects tenant interest in industrial to remain robust compared to other markets nationwide “fueled by demand from logistics companies and food & beverage users.”
d