I suppose it’s human nature to want to know about the biggest deals before they happen. If nothing else, I’m always eager to learn which big-name tenants are in the market with a requirement that could make a splash across New Jersey’s commercial real estate sector.
Unfortunately for me, brokers and others in the know are smart enough to not share that information. But the Garden State’s hottest asset class is now seeing requirements from companies that many of us have never heard of, even some brokers. The rapid rise of e-commerce and its outsized impact on the industrial sector has meant that little-known startups, many of them just a few years old, are playing a role in the market alongside giants like Amazon and traditional retailers that are shaking up their supply chains.
Landlords can take comfort in the fact that those companies, along with seemingly every other type of industrial user, show no signs of slowing down. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, developers are preparing to add millions of square feet of new space to New Jersey’s exceedingly tight industrial market. Yet experts say demand will continue to outpace supply as those projects come online in 2020 and 2021, thanks to the continued upside of e-commerce and the chronic lack of developable land in the state.
Our August issue also has an in-depth look at the thirst for cooler and freezer space, an area that is perhaps even more supply-constrained. The growth of online fresh grocery sales and changes in consumer preferences has boosted demand for cold storage nationwide. New Jersey is no exception, but meeting that demand could prove challenging because of the cost and complexity of such projects. What’s more, freezer and cooler spaces often require a high degree of specialization, which in turn requires build-to-suits, yet some developers are positioning themselves to tap into that demand.
Elsewhere in this issue, we feature a master-planned, mixed-use project in Burlington County that has taken shape over the course of two decades. Located in Chesterfield, the site includes roughly 1,000 homes, but is now welcoming a mixed-use, downtown-style development built by Renaissance Properties that will bring new retailers to the community.
You can find those stories and more in the latest issue of Real Estate NJ. We’ve had a busy summer so far, which I hope is a sign of things to come for the fall. We will find out soon enough, as Labor Day is only weeks away. Until then, thank you for reading and thanks to all of you who continue to support Real Estate NJ. As always, we look forward to your questions, feedback and story ideas. Enjoy the issue!
Joshua Burd
Editor
josh@re-nj.com
