Plans for a new 380,000-square-foot cold storage facility in East Hanover call for more than 40 dock doors, a 70-foot refrigerated dock, 50-foot clearance and ample secured trailer parking, in a project that will offer temperatures ranging from minus 20 to more than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. — Rendering courtesy: RealCold
By Joshua Burd
Construction is set to begin for a new 380,000-square-foot cold storage facility in East Hanover, in a project that’s bringing new life to a piece of the iconic Novartis Corp. campus on Route 10.
Its developer, RealCold, is partnering with Russo Development and Onyx Equities to build what it says will be a high-throughput, fully convertible facility offering temperatures from minus 20 to more than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Plans also call for more than 40 dock doors, a 70-foot refrigerated dock, 50-foot clearance and ample secured trailer parking when the facility opens in early 2026, capitalizing on a location that’s a 30-minute drive from Port Newark-Elizabeth.
The partnership was on hand Thursday to break ground on the project, which it will build alongside 220,000 square feet of dry industrial space with 40-foot clear ceiling heights.
“We are thrilled to kick off this project in East Hanover which is in no small part due to our various partners whose collaboration led us to this premier site in northern New Jersey,” RealCold CEO Keith Goldsmith said. “Our collective research, input from customers and demand from the market, has reinforced that this is the most strategic location to bring significant cold storage online. We believe it will be a game-changer for importers/exporters, grocers, food manufacturers and online retailers with operations in the region.”
RealCold, an affiliate of Related Fund Management, noted that the facility will have five fully convertible rooms as well as dedicated areas for direct-to-consumer activities and value-added services, supporting its ecommerce fulfillment solutions. The building will allow the company to reach tens of millions of consumers more quickly, contributing to an overall nationwide reach of 97 percent of the U.S. population in two days or less.
CBRE’s Kevin Dudley and Chad Hillyer make up the leasing team for the development at Route 10 and Ridgedale Avenue, which comes three years after Russo and Onyx acquired the 62-acre site with plans to raze some 900,000 square feet of vacant office space.
“A complex redevelopment such as this one — where a portion of an active property is transitioned — requires an enormous amount of collaboration,” Russo Development CEO Ed Russo said. “In this case, we and our partners at Onyx and RFM were fortunate to work with a great team at Novartis and the Township of East Hanover, blending a set of interests that became a common mission.”
John Saraceno, cofounder and managing principal of Onyx Equities, added: “This is a perfect example of repurposing a former office use — in this case with an esteemed legacy — to the standards and market receptiveness of new industrial uses and the result is a promising new life through RealCold, and we are proud to be a part of it.”
RealCold, which serves clients such as manufacturers, grocers and food service providers, has two other major cold storage projects in development including a 386,000-square-foot facility in Lakeland, Florida, and 312,000 square feet in Lockhart, Texas. Upon completion of the three projects, the platform will operate nearly 1.6 million square feet of cold storage space across eight sites coast to coast.
“We are fortunate to have had an opportunity to secure this property in such a highly coveted market, and thank those who have worked to make today a reality,” said Michael Winston, managing director at Related Fund Management. “We are proud of the vision we have for this site — a modern facility that has been engineered with exacting standards and optimized to service the demands of the food industry for years to come.”
Russo, Onyx plan 827,000 sq. ft. industrial campus at Novartis site in East Hanover
