By Joshua Burd
A cold storage developer has announced plans for a new 380,000-square-foot temperature-controlled warehouse at a former piece of the Novartis Corp. campus in East Hanover.
The operator, RealCold, said it was partnering with site owners Onyx Equities and Russo Development to build the facility along Route 10, with completion slated for late 2025. Its plans call for a space with 50-foot clear ceiling heights and environmentally controlled rooms ranging from minus 20 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, plus more than 40 dock doors for inbound and outbound loading and dedicated areas for value-added services.
Known as High Point on 10, the warehouse will allow RealCold to service the tristate area’s cold chain needs, including frozen and refrigerated goods going to and from a port district that’s less than 30 minutes away, according to a news release. Its sponsor, Related Fund Management, and its partners are also planning 200,000 square feet of so-called ambient warehouse space that will be available to third parties or RealCold customers with a need for ambient or cooler space.
“Prior to East Hanover, RealCold already had a robust and far-reaching network, but expanding to the Northeast was always part of our roadmap,” RealCold CEO Keith Goldsmith said. “The completion of this transaction marks a significant milestone in our strategy of entering high-consumption markets, and more importantly fulfills a need voiced by our current and potential customers.
“Additionally, this facility will provide a critical hub for omnichannel fulfillment as it increases RealCold’s reach, allowing us to get our customers’ products in the hands of 97 percent of U.S. consumers in two days or less as part of our powerful (direct-to-consumer) program.”
News of the project comes three years after Russo and Onyx acquired the 62-acre site at Route 10 and Ridgedale Avenue, with plans to raze some 900,000 square feet of vacant office space to make way for two modern industrial buildings. The property is now set to become RealCold’s growing third new-build facility in the last 12 months, expanding upon its five existing operational facilities.
In the news release, the developer named Onyx and Russo as partners alongside capital from Related Fund Management. It noted that the facility will allow it to reach 60 million people and 100 million people on a next-day and two-day parcel service, respectively.
RealCold’s other projects include a 386,000-square-foot facility in Lakeland, Florida, and a 312,000-square-foot facility in Lockhart, Texas, with both slated for occupancy in the first quarter of 2025. Upon completion of all three new facilities, RealCold will have nearly 1.6 million square feet of space, giving it a top 10 footprint in the refrigerated warehouse sector.
Russo, Onyx plan 827,000 sq. ft. industrial campus at Novartis site in East Hanover
