The Fairfalls Logistics Portfolio comprises 30 light industrial buildings totaling 1.35 million square feet in Fairfield, Little Falls, Elmwood Park and Carteret. — Courtesy: Newmark
By Joshua Burd
Newmark is hailing a banner year and strong momentum for its Rutherford-based industrial capital markets team, following several high-profile deals and some $1.1 billion in total transaction volume.
The firm noted that its 2024 transactions included the $300 million recapitalization of a 30-building, 1.35 million-square-foot light industrial portfolio in Fairfield, Little Falls, Elmwood Park and Carteret. That equated to northern New Jersey’s largest industrial deal for the year, as the team secured a joint venture equity partner on behalf of The Hampshire Cos. for what was known as the Fairfalls Logistics Portfolio.
Executive Managing Director Kevin Welsh, Managing Director Brian Schulz and Global Head of Industrial and Logistics Jack Fraker spearheaded the assignment, noting that the portfolio is currently 92 percent leased and provides critical mass and operational efficiency within the regional port-centric market. Most of the buildings, which average 45,000 square feet, are concentrated in Fairfield with direct access to corridors such as Interstate 80 and Route 46.
“We are excited about the strong momentum and significant transactions the team has executed over the last year and building upon the partnership with our clients and industrial capital markets collaborators in the Northeast,” Welsh said. “Our track record reflects the strength of our market position, and we’re looking forward to reaching even greater milestones in the year ahead.”
Another key transaction in 2024 included the $156.3 million sale of 280 Richards St. in Brooklyn’s Red Hook section. Newmark represented Thor Equities and its institutional partner in the trade of the newly built, 312,000-square-foot facility that’s leased to Amazon, noting that the site includes 151,000 square feet of warehouse and 161,000 square feet of rooftop van and box truck parking.
The team also procured the buyer, Terreno Realty Corp., according to a news release. Adam Spies and Douglas Harmon, Newmark’s coheads of capital markets, along with Executive Vice Chairman Adam Doneger and Director Willis Robbins, collaborated with Welsh and Schulz on the sale.
The northern New Jersey industrial sector will likely see continued interest from domestic and international investors, the firm said, citing its deep and dense labor pool, strong highway infrastructure and status as a gateway to the largest metropolitan population base in the country and the ports of New York and New Jersey. It also has the second-largest port complex in the U.S. by annual volume.