Clark Machemer, a senior managing director with Crow Holdings Industrial, is leading the Dallas-based firm’s expansion in the Northeast. He is pictured in early January at the site of a 925,000-square-foot distribution center in Franklin Township, which has since been completed and is fully leased to LG Electronics USA. — Photo by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ
By Joshua Burd
An investment team led by Crow Holdings Industrial has sold a newly built, 925,000-square-foot warehouse in Franklin Township for $164 million.
The developer announced Tuesday that BentallGreenOak has purchased the property at 50 Veronica Ave., working on behalf of an institutional investor. CHI built the property, which is fully leased and occupied by LG Electronics USA, in partnership with The Carlyle Group.
Cushman & Wakefield Vice Chairman Gary Gabriel, Executive Vice Chairman Andrew Merin and Managing Director Kyle Schmidt represented the seller.
“While the pandemic has brought most investment activity to a standstill, there is still tremendous demand for state-of the-art logistics properties,” said Clark Machemer, senior managing director of CHI’s Northeast region. “Further, having LG in place as a long-term tenant made this a particularly desirable asset. We’re thrilled with the result of our 50 Veronica Avenue development, which, as our first project in the Northeast, serves as a prototype of a successful CHI development.
“With collaboration from the municipality and our key partners on this project, we were able to acquire, build and lease the property in less than 18 months, leveraging our extensive market knowledge and an expedited construction timeline to bring much-needed industrial space to central New Jersey.”
The deal comes two years after CHI entered the Northeast market with its hire of Machemer. The firm and an investment fund advised by The Carlyle Group acquired the site from 2020 Acquisitions in early 2019 and began construction several months later, while announcing the full-building lease with LG in December.
The electronics giant began its seven-year tenancy in April, CHI said. Its new home boasts modern features such as large translucent windows that allow natural light and LED lights that create an open and bright working environment.
The property also has 40-foot clear ceiling heights and includes 170 trailer parking spots, 159 dock positions, four drive-in ramps and doors and 394 car spaces, CHI said. It sits near mass transit, the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 287, providing access to labor and truck traffic.
“With strong pricing, this transaction evidences that best-in-market industrial real estate remains liquid, despite the economic and health stories in the press,” said Gabriel, part of C&W’s East Rutherford-based capital markets team.
Machemer cited the brokerage team’s ability to execute the deal during the coronavirus crisis.
“It’s difficult to complete any transaction given the current situation, but the Cushman team did an excellent job of bypassing obstacles and bringing us to closing,” Machemer said. “Their skill at delivering the information and important attributes of the deal made the process very smooth from both the buyer’s and seller’s perspectives.”
The CHI Northeast team, which is actively looking to expand its local portfolio, said it has a 5 million-square-foot development pipeline in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Carlyle’s equity for its investment in the Franklin Township development came from the Carlyle Realty Partners VIII fund.An investment team led by Crow Holdings Industrial has sold a newly built, 925,000-square-foot warehouse in Franklin Township for $164 million.
Machemer, Crow Holdings moving quickly to fill Northeast industrial pipeline
