494 Market St. in Perth Amboy — Courtesy: Rosengarten Realty & Development
By Joshua Burd
A company that sells supplies for contractors and plumbers has acquired a 9,000-square-foot building in Perth Amboy, Rosengarten Realty & Development announced Monday.
The buyer, United Supply, purchased the property at 494 Market St. for less than $1 million, according to a news release. The seller was West Marine, while locally based Rosengarten Realty & Development helped bring the parties together.
The deal closed on Dec. 28.
“A few months ago we realized that West Marine planned to consolidate the Perth Amboy and South Amboy stores in its new, larger Woodbridge facility,” Barry Rosengarten, the firm’s founder, owner and broker of record, said in a prepared statement. “Immediately, our team started contacting companies that may have an interest in the site.
“We often combine our knowledge of the local real estate market with opportunities like this as they arise to create successful sales, buying or leasing transactions.”
United Supply, a wholesaler of heating and air conditioning equipment and accessories, operates 10 facilities throughout New Jersey and serves plumbers and mechanical contractors, the news release said. The company features well-known brands such as Ruud, Fujitsu, Weil-McLain, Generac, Honeywell and Southwark Metal, as well as hundreds of smaller accessory lines.
Its new building sits at the corner of Herbert and Market streets in Perth Amboy. The company was expected to begin renovating the property this month and expects to open the facility by March.
“We selected the Perth Amboy site because it is a great building in an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) and located at the crossroads of New Jersey with easy access to many major highways,” United Supply CEO Steven Kantor said.
By locating in a UEZ, United Supply customers who purchase their equipment and supplies at the Perth Amboy facility will pay half the New Jersey sales tax or just 3.5 percent. Rosengarten added that the city of Perth Amboy “is ready to help United Supply open its new location on time,” pointing to recent steps to reduce time to process permits and obtain certificates to occupy renovated facilities.
The company also provides value-added customer training to its clients at all locations, the news release said, as manufacturers continually upgrade the technology in their systems. The new Perth Amboy facility will be the prototype for a new smaller footprint operation for United Supply, whose current facilities range in size from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet.
The company’s growth strategy involves opening more midsize stores with more inventory to meet customer needs.
