349-369 1st St. in Elizabeth — Courtesy: CenterPoint Properties
By Joshua Burd
CenterPoint Properties has acquired an industrial site near Port Newark-Elizabeth, touting its abundance of parking and an opportunity for future development.
Located at 349-369 1st St. in Elizabeth, the 8.25-acre property includes a 36,868-square-foot warehouse building, the developer announced last week. The firm noted that significant e-commerce absorption in northern New Jersey has increased demand for last-mile sites with excess parking, while also highlighting its flexibility for other uses.
“This site aligns with the CenterPoint investment thesis of acquiring infill real estate with tremendous parking and future development optionality,” said Evan Lippow, vice president of investments with CenterPoint. “The ability to acquire a site of this quality in the Elizabeth submarket is the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.”
NAI James E. Hanson’s Scott Perkins, Christopher Todd, Russell Verducci and Eric Demmers represented the Oak Brook, Illinois-based buyer in the sale-leaseback, the terms of which were not disclosed. Marc Imrem, J.D. DeRosa and Colby Moore of Transwestern Commercial Services’ Chicago office represented the seller, Coach USA.
The brokers touted the site’s immediate access to the New Jersey Turnpike and its location a mile from Port Newark-Elizabeth.
“In today’s hyper-competitive industrial real estate asset class, working with a brokerage team that can quickly identify off-market opportunities can make all the difference in firms’ ability to capitalize and find success in this market,” Todd said. “Through our unmatched knowledge of these markets and contacts within them, our team is second to none in our ability to recognize these rare opportunities.
“This transaction underscores how we consistently leverage our experience on behalf of even the largest industrial investors to help them reach their real estate goals.”
CenterPoint now has a regional portfolio of warehouses, truck terminals, parking sites and active development projects spanning 28 properties and more than 7 million square feet, NAI Hanson said. The brokerage team of Perkins, Todd, Verducci and Demmers, along with Kenneth Lundberg and Patrick Lennon are the exclusive leasing agents for CenterPoint’s first spec industrial project in New Jersey, which is at 49 Rutherford St. in Newark.
“CenterPoint remains extremely active in the East Region from both an investment and development perspective,” said PJ Charlton, a senior vice president of investments with the company. “This transaction will put CenterPoint at $500 million invested in the New Jersey/New York area alone since 2017. We are also excited about our new development project at 49 Rutherford in Newark, which is under construction and available for lease.”
CenterPoint adds Newark development site, plans 186,000 sq. ft. industrial project
