Matrix Global Logistics Park in Staten Island — Courtesy: Margulies Hoelzli
By Joshua Burd
Fresh off another deal with Amazon, Matrix Development Group is hailing the lease-up of a 3.5 million-square-foot logistics park in Staten Island, where it broke ground four years ago as it pushed the boundaries of New Jersey’s booming industrial market.
The developer, which is based in Monroe, recently secured the 975,000-square-foot commitment from the e-commerce giant at its Matrix Global Logistics Park, according to market reports. The location at 526 Gulf Ave. will mark Amazon’s third facility at the four-building, 200-acre complex about three miles from the Goethals Bridge, where it already occupies more than 1.3 million square feet.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Jason Goldman brokered the transaction alongside Alec Taylor, a principal with Matrix.
“It’s incredibly gratifying to see the full vision for Matrix Global Logistics Park — Staten Island come to fruition,” said Joseph S. Taylor, Matrix’s CEO and president. “We, at Matrix, also take great pride in our collaboration with the many public- and private-sector stakeholders in Staten Island, particularly Borough President James Oddo, to realize the ambitious economic development goals of this project. Together, we have helped to create more than 4,000 full-time jobs for area residents — jobs that appear to be particularly resilient despite the current climate of uncertainty.”
The complex, which is about five minutes outside New Jersey, is also home to a 975,000-square-foot Ikea fulfillment center. Matrix broke ground on the first of four speculative buildings at the site in October 2016, seeing it as an extension of the North Jersey market and an opportunity to get closer to Brooklyn, Queens and even Long Island.
“Early indications are that it’s absolutely every bit as accepted as northern New Jersey, with added benefits to the other boroughs and to Long Island,” Taylor told Real Estate NJ in a 2018 interview. “There’s a significant market out there.”
Staten Island provides easy access to those markets and all of New Jersey, Taylor said. The site, which was formerly home to a field of oil tanks, was once earmarked for an 82,500-seat NASCAR racetrack that was later derailed by public backlash, paving the way for it to become an industrial parcel.
Matrix landed its first tenant at the park in summer 2017 with an 855,000-square-foot commitment from Amazon. The Ikea transaction came soon thereafter, followed by Amazon’s second lease early this year for another 450,000 square feet.
New Jersey industrial brokers, developers thinking regionally as tenants expand the market