A rendering of Rockefeller Group 10Edison, a 900,022-square-foot distribution center off Route 27 in Edison that is being developed by Rockefeller Group — Rendering by KSS Architects/Courtesy: Rockefeller Group
By Joshua Burd
Rockefeller Group has started construction on a 900,022-square-foot distribution center in Edison, where it is redeveloping the former site of an ExxonMobil research campus.
The speculative project, known as Rockefeller Group 10Edison, is slated for an August 2020 delivery and will benefit from a location directly off Interstate 287. Rockefeller is building the facility on 56 acres off Route 27, where ExxonMobil operated a research lab and synthetics oil facility from 1949 to 2016.
The site is also minutes from New Jersey Turnpike Exit 10.
“Rockefeller Group is excited to be developing in Edison and bringing this facility to the northern New Jersey market,” said Mikki Columbus, associate director, real estate development, for Rockefeller Group’s New Jersey/Pennsylvania region. “The site provides immediate access to Route 287 and the New Jersey Turnpike.”
The cross-dock building will feature 40-foot clear ceiling heights, 150 dock doors, 464 auto-parking stalls and 206 trailer-parking stalls, the developer said in a news release. The firm also noted that Rockefeller Group 10Edison will be its second 40-foot clear distribution center in the market, following its 2015 delivery of Cranbury Station Park in Cranbury.
“This project is one of the few industrial projects under construction of more than 750,000 square feet in New Jersey and is a rare combination of location and size,” said Mark Shearer, senior vice president and regional development officer for Rockefeller Group’s New Jersey/Pennsylvania region. “With great access to the port and 40-foot high ceilings, we feel 10Edison will be attractive to a variety of users.”
Rockefeller Group acquired the site in 2017 and has worked closely with Edison township officials on site improvements, zoning and infrastructure. CBRE Vice Chairman Thomas F. Monahan is heading the leasing efforts for the project along with CBRE’s Stephen D’Amato and Larry Schiffenhaus, touting the still-strong demand in the region for buildings greater than 750,000 square feet.
The firm noted that, for the second quarter, overall vacancy for the entire New Jersey industrial market fell to 3 percent. In the 287 and Exit 10 submarket, vacancy fell to 2.1 percent.
“There continues to be scarcity of sizable assets greater than 700,000 square feet in the marketplace, especially along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor,” Monahan said.
The project is also the latest large, modern industrial development to come to Edison, which is home to a nearby Amazon fulfillment center that was originally developed by Seagis Property Group, along with a sprawling FedEx facility.
“Rockefeller Group’s investment in Edison is another significant economic victory for our community,” Edison Mayor Thomas Lankey said. “Redeveloping the former ExxonMobil plant will create many temporary construction jobs. It will ultimately generate more permanent local jobs at the new distribution center and it will increase Edison’s tax base.”
