Developers, brokers and others in this industry have told me that they stay successful by staying true to their niche. We strive to do the same here at Real Estate NJ, meaning you’ll rarely find us covering anything outside New Jersey, except in very special circumstances.
We had one of those exceptions in fall 2016, when Matrix Development Group announced it was starting on two speculative industrial buildings in Staten Island. It seemed at the time like it was still a New Jersey story, especially when you consider that Matrix has such deep ties to the Garden State and that the site is only a mile from the Goethals Bridge.
It’s now clear that Matrix was right to cross that bridge — and that we were right to follow along in our coverage.
As you’ll find out in this month’s cover story, developers and brokers that have long focused on New Jersey are now stretching beyond the traditional boundaries of the state’s industrial market. And they are stretching them in every direction — for different reasons — in their quest to keep pace with tenants that are adopting a more regional approach.
Consider this: North Jersey is still an indispensable market for those that distribute into Manhattan, but experts say it falls short for making same-day deliveries into Brooklyn and Queens. That has set the stage for users like Amazon, along with developers and brokers, to make their move into the outer boroughs of New York City.
To the west, regional users now see the Lehigh Valley as comparable to the Exit 8A submarket, fueling the recent development boom in Eastern Pennsylvania and moves by firms such as JLL and CBRE to integrate their industrial teams throughout the Northeast.
Our August issue includes another feature that reflects this trend. As you’ll read, Dermody Properties has started the final phase of a massive industrial park in Logan Township, more than a decade after acquiring the 1,100-acre site. The success of the project has shown the strength of not only the South Jersey market, but also the willingness of tenants to look farther down the New Jersey Turnpike to find modern logistics space.
We also bring you stories on Avison Young’s growth in New Jersey since the Canadian real estate services firm entered the market less than six years ago, starting with a key hire and a high-profile acquisition. Meantime, our Personalities section features an interview with Jason Pierson, who has built his retail brokerage in part by seizing opportunities in untapped urban markets.
The summer has been busy enough in our industry, so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come this fall. Either way, I always look forward to seeing things pick up and seeing everyone on the jam-packed events circuit in September. As always, we hope you continue to find everything you need in these pages and online at www.RE-NJ.com and in The Briefing, our daily e-blast.
Thank you for reading and for your continued feedback. Enjoy the issue!
Joshua Burd
Editor
josh@re-nj.com