By Joshua Burd
Bridge Development Partners’ highly successful team in New Jersey is heading to Brooklyn, as part of a joint venture that is buying a site with plans to build more than 1.5 million square feet of new industrial space.
Jeff Milanaik, regional partner with Bridge, confirmed this week that the firm is partnering with New York City developer Dov Hertz to buy the 18-acre property in Sunset Park. The firms are in contract to acquire the waterfront site in southwestern Brooklyn, which is home to an existing industrial park, but reportedly is zoned for up to 1.6 million square feet of new development.
Published reports say the buyers ultimately hope to reposition the complex at 50 21st St., looking to tap into the growing demand for modern warehouse and distribution space in the outer boroughs. E-commerce firms, retailers and other users are driving that demand in order to provide same-day delivery in Manhattan and the millions of outer borough residents.
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Hertz’s firm, DH Property Holdings, and Bridge reportedly are buying the site from 601 W Companies and are likely to close by year-end. Crain’s New York Business first reported the deal, with one source estimating the price to be around $250 million.
The deal represents another large bet on Brooklyn by DH Property Holdings, which is planning 335,000 square feet of multistory industrial space in the borough’s Red Hook section. The firm partnered with Goldman Sachs Asset Management to acquire the site late last year.
For Bridge, a Chicago-based firm, the expansion into Brooklyn comes after a busy four years in the region. The developer entered New Jersey in 2014 and amassed a portfolio of infill, well-located sites that would ultimately anchor a blockbuster, $700 million portfolio sale to Duke Realty Corp. last year.
Bridge has moved quickly in recent months to refill its pipeline with new projects along the Interstate 287 corridor and in Warren County, opposite Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. The firm also has additional projects slated for Perth Amboy, Edison and elsewhere.
