15 Law Drive in Fairfield — Courtesy: The Stro Cos.
By Joshua Burd
The Stro Cos. has closed on a 77,000-square-foot industrial building in Fairfield, touting the property as a value-add acquisition with a lease that will expire in less than a year.
The Ridgewood-based firm announced Tuesday that it purchased 15 Law Drive for $8.4 million, in an off-market transaction with Datascope Corp. The property is currently occupied by Maquet, a pharmaceutical company that is using the space for manufacturing and distribution needs, which will vacate at the end of 2021 and present Stro with multiple options for finding a new tenant.
To that end, Stro said it plans to find a life sciences tenant that can use the existing installation or convert the property to a last-mile distribution facility.
“We are all extremely excited about this new acquisition.” said Jack Shulman, the firm’s director of leasing, acquisitions and capital markets. “The property affords us the opportunity to attract a life science company or convert the building to a warehouse-distribution facility, either of which would be a great addition to the Stro portfolio.”
In a news release, Stro said the building has 18-foot ceiling heights, the potential for up to eight loading docks and a two-acre parking lot that can potentially be used for trailer parking. The property sits along Route 46, providing easy access to interstates 80, 280 and 287, along with other area highways.
“COVID-19 has increased the competitiveness of the industrial and life science sectors, especially in northern New Jersey,” Shulman said. “To have secured such a great property with the flexibility of keep as an existing life science or convert to warehouse-distribution, is a real testament to Stro capabilities on executing and sourcing creative deals.”
Howard Weinberg of JLL represented the seller in the transaction, while Evan Glanz of E Glanz Associates served as lead counsel in closing the deal for Stro. The debt was financed by Prudential Bank, with John Bailey leading that effort.
“Howard, who we have worked with on various acquisitions, was once again a pleasure to work with and we hope to continue working with him in the foreseeable future,” Shulman said, noting that the firm also has a longstanding relationship with Bailey, who was “professional as usual, quick to execute and able to push this deal toward closing. Big thank you to both Howard and John!”
He added that “we have capital on the sidelines and are looking to deploy in either core, value-add or ground-up industrial” in northern New Jersey.
“It is a competitive marketplace, and we have a great team at Stro that can execute quickly and provide immediate feedback when offered a deal,” he said.
