66-96 East Union Ave. in East Rutherford — Courtesy: Duke Realty Corp.
By Joshua Burd
Duke Realty Corp. has added more than 100,000 square feet of industrial space in the Meadowlands as part of its latest acquisition in New Jersey.
In a deal brokered by NAI James E. Hanson, the company announced Monday that it has purchased a 102,224-square-foot industrial building at 66-96 East Union Ave. in East Rutherford. The real estate investment trust acquired the building from Caravan Ingredients Inc., which had owned it since 2000, for an undisclosed price.
“Duke Realty continues to invest in modern distribution space — especially in opportunities and facilities along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor,” said Art Makris, senior vice president of Duke Realty’s Northeast region. “We are continuously working to identify strategic opportunities to expand our best-in-class New Jersey portfolio with facilities that can help meet client regional and national distribution needs.”
NAI Hanson’s Scott Perkins and Chris Todd brokered the sale, which brings the REIT’s New Jersey portfolio to nearly 8.2 million square feet. In a news release, the firms noted that the 6.8-acre site sits near the junction of routes 3 and 17, placing it minutes from the Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and Midtown Manhattan.
“This low coverage functional asset in the heart of the Meadowlands submarket is a perfect fit for our infill acquisition strategy,” said Mark Crawford, vice president and head of acquisitions for Duke Realty. “We are continuously pursuing opportunities similar to this in infill locations like northern New Jersey.”
NAI Hanson said Perkins and Todd began to market the property after learning that Caravan had hoped to sell the business unit occupying the building. They saw it as an opportunity to both sell and backfill the building in connection with the potential sale of the business, the news release said.
“It is not every day that you can say a complex real estate transaction like this is truly a win-win for everyone involved,” Todd said.
Perkins added: “Through understanding the unique needs of the buyer and seller, we were able to craft a solution that would allow Duke Realty to grow its industrial portfolio while providing Caravan a clean exit from an asset and business that no longer fit their broader corporate strategy.”
Duke Realty’s Ben Rosen, vice president of leasing and development, and Cait English, leasing representative in the New Jersey market, represented the REIT in the transaction.
