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12 DECEMBER 2021
AMAZON DITCHES PLANS FOR
MAJOR LEASE IN JERSEY CITY
familiar with the matter, although Mack-Cali declined to comment and Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The long-rumored deal would have marked a major victory for the REIT and for the Hudson waterfront submarket, which has grappled with large blocks of vacant space since before the pandemic. And it would follow a sweeping physical
aggressively shedding its suburban commercial properties. The REIT, under pressure from Wall Street, has also focused on expanding its luxury multifamily portfolio through its Roseland Residential Trust subsidiary.
Amazon has been expanding in the New York area despite the collapse of its plan to build a second headquarters in Queens in 2019, Bloomberg reported. The Seattle-based
company in December 2019 signed
a 335,000-square-foot lease for office space near Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, some four months before it bought the Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue from WeWork for $1.15 billion.
It’s also no stranger to Jersey City. Whole Foods, which the company owns, committed in 2019 to opening a 47,542-square-foot store at Mack- Cali’s Harborside 4A building, along with 47,398 square feet of office space at Harborside 3 for its Northeast headquarters.
Mack-Cali’s leadership team has turned over in recent years, with CEO Mahmoud Nia joining the company
in March. The company last year tapped CBRE as its leasing team at Harborside, a former Pennsylvania Railroad complex that dates back to 1929.
After nearly agreeing to lease some 400,000 square feet of office space at the renovated Harborside campus in Jersey City, Amazon has reportedly scrapped the plan.
According to Bloomberg, the
technology giant backed out of lease negotiations with Mack-Cali Realty Corp. after being close to a deal for space at Harborside 1, as the publication reported in early November. The report cited people
Mack-Cali Realty Corp. recently unveiled renovations of its signature 422,590-square-foot Harborside 1 building in Jersey City, as depicted in this rendering.
overhaul of Harborside 1, located at Hudson Street and Christopher Columbus Drive, which came as part of a larger multimillion-dollar upgrade of the 4.3 million-square-foot office complex.
Mack-Cali has also renovated and added new dining options to the sprawling atrium between Harborside 2 and 3, among other upgrades.
Bloomberg described the news as a major setback for Mack-Cali, which has doubled down on the Jersey City office market in recent years while
GREEK EYES REDEVELOPMENT AT FAMED NABISCO SITE IN FAIR LAWN
Greek Development plans to build new industrial space at the site of the landmark Nabisco plant in Fair Lawn, following its recent purchase of the property for nearly $147 million.
Exactly how much space it will construct is still unclear, but a company
plans.”
An affiliate of Greek, one of the state’s most active developers of warehouse, logistics and cold storage space, closed on its purchase of the site in mid-October. The deal came around three months after the Nabisco plant ceased operations, following six decades of production in the Bergen County borough, resulting in the loss of about 600 jobs.
NorthJersey.com first reported the $146.5 million sale, identifying CLPF Greek Fair Lawn LLC as the buyer. Mondelez Global Senior Director Laurie Guzzinati confirmed the deal to the publication, which noted that local officials were eager to ensure that the site remains dedicated to industrial use.
“We’re really excited,” Fair Lawn Mayor Kurt Peluso told NorthJersey.com.
“I think that it shows a lot about the community of Fair Lawn that we had such a large company leave and the property never went dormant.” RE
David Greek
executive confirmed in mid-November that it will raze all existing buildings and redevelop the 39-acre property on Route 208.
David Greek, a managing partner with the East Brunswick-based firm, said that process is still at least a year away from beginning, as Nabisco parent company Mondelez Global
is keeping some employees on site until they can be relocated to another facility in the area.
“We’ve met with the township,” Greek said. “They’re very supportive of our
Courtesy: Mack-Cali