Westfall Town Center at 111 Hulst Drive in Matamoras, Pennsylvania — Courtesy: Larken Associates
By Joshua Burd
Larken Associates has started 2024 with near full occupancy after a year in which it completed more than 420 commercial real estate transactions comprising nearly 943,000 square feet.
The Branchburg-based firm said its 2023 deal volume included 122 new leases covering 287,100 square feet and 298 renewals comprising 655,715 square feet. As a result, the company at year-end had an occupancy rate of 92 percent and a retention rate of 89.72 percent across its nearly 4 million-square-foot commercial portfolio.
Executive vice presidents Rob Marek and Victor Kelly of Raider Realty, Larken’s in-house brokerage unit, spearheaded the activity.
“Our success has been driven by a long-term ownership strategy and strategic approach to asset management that sets us apart in the industry,” said David Gardner, CEO and president of Larken Associates. “I am excited to build upon our momentum in 2024 and continue to create places where businesses of all types across New Jersey and Pennsylvania can thrive.”
The firm said it also added to its portfolio in 2023 with the acquisition of Westfall Town Center, a 203,907-square-foot, grocery-anchored property on 32 acres at 111 Hulst Drive in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. It also marked the completion and full lease-up of a new 19,000-square-foot office building at 3040 Route 22 West in Branchburg, part of its Branchburg Centre property.
Meantime, Larken marked several other construction and renovation milestones such as the creation of 150,000 square feet of warehouse space at Flemington Junction Business Center in Flemington, which is currently 85 percent leased, according to a news release. Elsewhere, it delivered a 4,200-square-foot outparcel at Carbon Plaza in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, a 2,000-square-foot expansion of the professional office space at Suite Life at Branchburg Commons in Branchburg and full interior and exterior renovations at 3 West in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
The company said it plans to continue to expand its commercial portfolio in the year ahead while adding to its roster of office, industrial and retail tenants.
