PVP Exit 8 LLC plans to build 1.1 million square feet of modern industrial space at 200 Milford Road in East Windsor, directly off New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8. — Rendering courtesy: PVP Exit 8 LLC
(Editor’s note: Paul V. Profeta & Associates is owned by Paul Profeta, who is the publisher of Real Estate NJ)
By Joshua Burd
PVP Exit 8 LLC, an affiliate of Paul V. Profeta & Associates Inc., has secured approvals to build 1.1 million square feet of new industrial space adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike in East Windsor, capitalizing on a site that is a 45-second drive from the highway’s northbound lanes.
Based in Roseland, the firm is developing the 123-acre site immediately east of the highway and contiguous to the Exit 8 interchange, which circumscribes the property. Plans call for a facility with 40-foot clear ceiling heights, 722,000 square feet of warehouse, 300,000 square feet of mezzanine and up to 60,000 square feet of office space, along with 87 tailboard doors and parking for 772 cars and 38 trailers.
Profeta is building the project at 200 Milford Road as part of a redevelopment plan approved by local officials in 2022.
“This site was brought to me five years ago by Thomas C. Nuara of Resource Realty,” said Paul Profeta, founder and president of Paul V. Profeta & Associates. “Once I saw the locational advantage of a site with the toll exit ramp circumscribing its boundaries, I jumped on it. Negotiations were tedious because of the religious institution that owned it, but Nuara’s focus and determination never wavered.
“He did a sensational job with difficult sellers and put the ball in the goal. He executed one of the most professional and successful brokerage jobs I have witnessed in my 50 years in the business. That is probably why he is one of the prolific industrial brokers year after year in the state.”
This will be Profeta’s fourth large warehouse project in the last three years. Three years ago he built 300,000 square feet in Columbus, Ohio, leased it to Amazon and sold it to PGIM. He is currently building 155,000 square feet in Salem, New Hampshire, contiguous to Interstate 93, noting that the site is currently 67 percent leased because it enjoys a 30-minute commute to downtown Boston.
Finally, Profeta owns a 400,000-square-foot warehouse in Winter Haven, Florida, that is leased to Sherwin-Williams Co. for 20 years on a triple-net basis, which he acquired in a 1031 exchange. The tenant has asked for an expansion of 300,000 square feet, bringing the total to 700,000 square feet. Construction on the additional 300,000 square feet will begin this spring and be complete a year later.
Although most of the major developers and restoration specialists in New Jersey partner with large financial institutions like pension funds and endowment funds, Profeta has built a large portfolio of real estate with no partners.
“I purchased the property in the fall of 2022 after my redevelopment plan was approved by the East Windsor Township Council,” he said. “The project team, led by Michael Pelardis, senior director at Paul V. Profeta & Associates, has done a superb job in a difficult development environment for warehouses. The team consists of Dynamic Engineering, KSS Architects, land use lawyer Mike Herbert of Parker McCay and Christine Nazzaro-Cofone, professional planner. They guided the entitlement process from inception to approval.”
The project will be among the latest at Exit 8, a previously overlooked stretch of the Turnpike between the more established Exit 8A and Exit 7A submarkets. The area has become more attractive in recent years after the 35-mile widening of the Turnpike between exits 6 and 9, which began in 2009 and was completed in late 2014, providing new options along the supply-constrained highway with the same ability to access New York City, Philadelphia and other major population centers.
Other popular exits on the Turnpike are so densely developed that it takes 20 to 30 minutes to travel to a new site from the toll booth, Profeta noted, while PVP Exit 8 LLC’s property at Exit 8 is at the toll booth.
That has helped East Windsor attract developers such as Exeter, Brookfield Properties, ARES, Crow Holdings, QTS Realty and Dermody Properties, along with tenants such as LG, Aurobindo Pharma, Modway, Shisedo and National Tree Retailers. Other nearby users are Volkswagen, Home Depot, FedEx, Amazon, Wayfair and Crate & Barrel.
The submarket is still comparatively small, representing around 7.5 million square feet of industrial space with about 328,000 square feet under construction.
Profeta’s project will represent a major infusion of industrial space, repurposing the site from a sod farm to a major warehouse property.
He has retained Resource Realty’s Nuara to find a tenant for the building. He was negotiating with several national credit tenants as of mid-February. In addition, he has fielded increasingly attractive offers to purchase the land with the entitlements.
