By Marty Khait
In 2026’s New Jersey industrial market, cold storage represents a unique opportunity. Vacancy rates are low, and much of the existing stock is 40+ years old and facing obsolescence. Furthermore, new construction requires specialized expertise that many traditional industrial developers lack. For food and beverage manufacturers, this means that expansion plans often stall out due to the space crunch.
A growing number of food manufacturing companies are turning to creative, opportunistic tools like Yukon Real Estate Partners’ developer-led RFP process. As developers specializing in cold chain and food logistics properties, Yukon’s team has deep experience with these creative strategies, including delivering a 300,000-square-foot, rail-served plant-attached warehouse that nearly eliminated storage transportation costs for a manufacturer.
How to make warehouse operators compete for your business
By following Yukon’s developer-led RFP process, a manufacturer partners with an experienced developer to obtain a customized warehouse facility with their exact specs, operated by a warehouser of their choosing. The developer manages the land acquisition and property development phases and works with the manufacturer to execute a competitive proposal process to find the best possible building operator.
Yukon’s developer-led RFP process
Here are the steps we use to secure the ideal space for our clients:
- Define the need. The manufacturer identifies the need for storage by quantifying their pallet demand. The manufacturer and developer then outline the ideal facility that can fulfill that identified pallet demand.
- Secure the site. The developer acquires control of an agreed-upon site and begins due diligence toward entitlements.
- Yukon runs the RFP process. Ambient and refrigerated-warehouse operators then compete for the opportunity to serve the manufacturer’s need, under the manufacturer’s specific requirements, bringing their best, most competitive terms to the table.
- Select and build. The winning operator signs a lease with the developer, Yukon, who finances and constructs the facility. The manufacturer becomes the anchor customer, with guaranteed service terms and minimal direct construction or ownership risk.
The result is a purpose-built project where each party’s incentives align: The manufacturer gains efficiency and cost certainty, the operator secures long-term volume and the developer delivers a stabilized, income-producing asset.
Case study: Flora Food Group
In 2024, Flora Food Group needed to reduce its high transportation costs and consolidate its fragmented cold storage around its New Century, Kansas, plant. Working with Yukon Real Estate Partners, the company defined its core objective: to consolidate 30,000 pallet positions into a modern, rail-connected warehouse attached directly to its production facility.
By utilizing Yukon’s developer-led RFP process, Flora was able to drive substantial savings with an optimized, plant-attached warehouse without tying up its balance sheet. The facility, completed this year, links to Flora’s production line through a pallet conveyor bridge and integrates a freon-based refrigeration system designed to meet community and ESG goals.
While industrial leasing and development may seem like business as usual, commercial real estate in New Jersey rewards creativity. Our market is not beginner-friendly and demands novel approaches to its unique challenges. Yukon’s developer-led RFP process gives the manufacturers access to new warehouse space, expertise and peace of mind. We see this collaboration-driven process as the future of the cold chain — and a powerful way to ensure that New Jersey’s food supply chain continues to expand, modernize, and thrive.
Marty Khait is co-founder of Yukon Real Estate Partners, a real estate company focused exclusively on cold storage and food logistics-related assets. Since the company’s formation in 2018, Yukon has been a first mover in both modern cold storage development as well as the acquisition and modernization of existing food-related assets.
For more information, email [email protected] or visit yrep.com.
