150 Milford Road in East Windsor — Courtesy: Atlantic Real Estate Services
(Editor’s note: This story was updated on Jan. 14 with additional comments and information from Dermody Properties, National Tree Products and others.)
By Joshua Burd
A seller of artificial Christmas trees has leased more than 600,000 square feet of industrial space in East Windsor, in a newly announced transaction by Atlantic Real Estate Services.
The brokerage firm on Monday said its client, National Tree Products, is taking 608,442 square feet at 150 Milford Road. The building, which is owned by Dermody Properties, provides the tenant with warehouse and distribution space less than a mile from Exit 8 of the New Jersey Turnpike, along with 28- to 36-foot clear ceiling heights, modern sprinklers and abundant parking and loading.
Atlantic’s Andrew Warren represented the tenant, while CBRE’s Mindy Lissner, David Gheriani and Robert Pine are the listing agents are the property.
“For over 60 years National Tree has been a leading importer and wholesaler of artificial Christmas Trees, wreaths and garlands as well as other holiday decorations and products,” said Warren, whose firm is based in Bridgewater. “They have enjoyed sustained growth over the years and 150 Milford Road affords National Tree the opportunity to consolidate multiple locations into one building.”
In a separate news release, Dermody touted the transaction while detailing recent improvements at the building such as an upgraded sprinkler system, new LED lighting and a repaved truck court.
“This year, we’ve seen consistent uptrends in e-commerce in many areas of the country and New Jersey is no exception,” said Gene Preston, east region partner at Dermody Properties. “We worked collaboratively with East Windsor Township to upgrade and improve the building’s functionality, making it ideal for this customer’s robust operations that will serve its national customer base.”
The developer and tenant added that, for nearly 60 years, NTC has been a leading importer and wholesaler of artificial Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands as well as holiday decorations and fiber optics products. The company sells its products to major retailers such as Amazon, Wayfair, Target, Macy’s, The Home Depot and Lowe’s, primarily selling on the retailers’ web platform and fulfilling orders from its warehouse direct to the end consumer.
“This property at 150 Milford Road presented the opportunity for us to consolidate our three smaller New Jersey warehouse locations into one in East Windsor,” said Don Kelley, CEO at National Tree Company. “This is a critical move in allowing us to expand our e-commerce operations with improved efficiency.”
The brokerage said that, earlier in 2020, Warren helped National Tree lease around 200,000 square feet of short-term warehouse space in northern New Jersey. Its new location is part of the former Conair Corp. complex, which Dermody acquired in 2019 with intentions to upgrade the property.
“National Tree Company is an important and welcomed addition to East Windsor,” East Windsor Mayor Janice S. Mironov said. “The company’s lease of this space opens up opportunities for job growth and is a sign of continued economic growth in this region.”
Dermody noted that 150 Milford Road is less than a mile from Route 33 and the New Jersey Turnpike and just over three miles from Route 130.
“Dermody Properties has been, and is currently, extremely active in the northeastern part of the country, particularly in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania,” Dermody CEO Elizabeth Kauchak said. “Our acquisition and development strategy remains focused on sourcing strategic opportunities such as this one that will allow our customers to efficiently and effectively grow their warehouse, logistics and distribution operations.”
Dermody acquires, plans upgrades at vacant 615,000 sq. ft. industrial building in East Windsor
