A rendering of 440 Franklin Turnpike in Mahwah — Courtesy: Onyx Equities/JLL
By Joshua Burd
Onyx Equities is moving ahead with plans to raze an obsolete, 1960s office building in Mahwah and redevelop the site as a new 120,000-square-foot industrial building.
The developer and brokers with JLL said Tuesday that the project, located at 440 Franklin Turnpike, has received redevelopment approval from local officials. By next month, the firm expects to begin demolition of the vacant, 108,000-square-foot office building, which sits on nearly eight acres just off Route 17, with delivery slated for summer 2019.
The project will transform what Onyx and JLL say is a long-undervalued site in northern Bergen County, offering first-generation space to operators looking to reach the northern New Jersey and southern New York trade areas.
“When completed, 440 Franklin Turnpike will be the only Class A, modern distribution center in this submarket,” said Christopher Hile, managing director with JLL. “This is a tremendous opportunity to lease a state-of-the-art logistics facility. The property is ideally located near major transportation routes. It is perfect for one or possibly two tenants.”
Hile is marketing the property for lease alongside David Knee, executive managing director, and Dean Brody, also a managing director, both with JLL.
Site plan approvals call for a warehouse and distribution facility with 36-foot clear heights, designed with a 50-foot-by-47-foot column span, according to a news release. The building will also feature modern sprinkler systems, ample trailer parking, 15 tailgate doors and two drive-ins.
Plans also call for about 6,000 square feet of mezzanine office, JLL said.
The development and leasing team also noted that the redevelopment application was guided by a lengthy, highest-and-best-use study and consideration of the recent surge in demand for industrial space in northern New Jersey. Onyx, a Woodbridge-based firm, is undertaking similar office-to-industrial conversions elsewhere in the market as part of its latest initiative.