A rendering of Midpoint Logistics Center in Hillsborough — Courtesy: CBRE Group Inc.
By Joshua Burd
After being destroyed last year by a high-profile fire, a Somerset County industrial complex is coming back to life as a new 700,000-square-foot distribution facility.
CBRE Group Inc. has been tapped to oversee leasing at the property at 152 U.S. Route 206 in Hillsborough, the firm announced this week. Known as Midpoint Logistics Center, the Class A industrial building is being developed by Los Angeles-based Industrial Realty Group, with a first phase that is slated to be ready for occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The assignment comes more than a year after a blaze that tore through what was a two-building complex, known as Veterans Industrial Park, reportedly causing more than $50 million in damages. The five-alarm fire sent plumes of thick black smoke into the air that could be seen from some 50 miles away, while closing schools and snarling traffic through the township’s main thoroughfare.
In the weeks after the fire, investigators had not announced a cause but said there was no reason to believe it was set intentionally.
Today, the complex is set to reopen as a state-of-the-art distribution facility. The CBRE team of Ben Shapiro, Mindy Lissner and William Waxman will spearhead leasing and marketing efforts on behalf of Industrial Realty Group, a national commercial real estate development and investment firm.
Midpoint Logistics Center can be divided to accommodate multiple users, CBRE said. The site is midway between New York City and the Lehigh Valley, offering access to a wide labor pool, 20 acres of outside storage space and rail service.
“In the 35 years that I have been in this business, I have never seen the combination of Class A warehouse space coupled with 20 acres of outside storage and rail, which this property offers,” Shapiro said. “We are thrilled to be working with IRG to bring this project to market.
“Beyond the quality features of the property itself, Midpoint Logistics Center will offer its user a location that is equidistant to Port Newark-Elizabeth and will be significantly less expensive to operate than any Class A warehouse buildings located along the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 287 corridors.”
The property’s location also has proximity to Port Newark-Elizabeth and Newark Liberty International Airport, along with direct transportation access to the region’s major highways, including interstates 78 and 80.
