Alterra IOS’s growing industrial outdoor storage portfolio in New Jersey includes 189 Dominic Lane in Paulsboro. — File photo (courtesy: Alterra IOS)
It wasn’t long ago that warehouse owners joked about finally being the “belle of the ball” (among other clichés) after years in the shadow of their counterparts in the office market. The ecommerce industry made sure of that, demanding the types of impressive, purposefully designed fulfillment centers that commanded high rents and became a magnet for investors.
By many accounts, industrial outdoor storage is now having its own moment. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, the once-niche asset class is now among the fastest-growing in terms of its appeal to institutional capital and larger-scale users. New Jersey is no exception, with a buyer pool that seems to grow more crowded and more competitive by the month, and it stands to continue in a region that is well-positioned to serve not only trucking companies — long synonymous with low-coverage sites — but an evolving tenant base that includes contractors, building material suppliers, auto dealers and other users with large fleets and storage needs. The state’s local, established landlords have also remained active, securing new sites through a mix of creativity and a willingness to explore lesser-known submarkets.
“It’s the one market where you have competition from your IOS operators as well as your REITs — and then your large industrial firms,” said Eitan Gerszberg, Kadima Industrial Partners’ director of IOS acquisitions. “Over the last couple of years, it’s gotten extremely competitive.”
Our Summer issue also highlights the newly launched Profeta Real Estate Center at New Jersey Institute of Technology, a program that will combine finance, engineering, architecture and environmental skills in one graduate degree to provide training in all aspects of development and management. That’s the hope of university officials and Paul V. Profeta, its founding donor and the publisher of Real Estate NJ, who see the potential to mold the industry’s most well-rounded graduates and prepare them for a market that has grown dramatically more complex in recent years. And, with classes slated to begin in 2027, the center will leverage courses that are already offered at the university, many of them through its highly regarded architecture, engineering and computing schools.
Elsewhere in this edition, we detail a philanthropy initiative that coincides with the 40th anniversary of the landmark Newport district in Jersey City. The LeFrak and Simon families, the mixed-use neighborhood’s visionary developers, will mark the milestone later this year by disbursing $1 million to 40 local nonprofit groups. The partnership has received more than 135 applications for the grants and will present the awards at a September gala, adding another chapter to Newport’s storied history.
“We continue to invest in Newport and the Jersey City community with more housing, additional community amenities like parks and playgrounds open to the entire city and our annual planned giving,” said Richard S. LeFrak, executive chairman of LeFrak. “Our 40-year stewardship of Newport, paired with this philanthropy initiative, allows us to continue to fulfill the promise of a complete community.”
You can find those stories and more in the latest issue of Real Estate NJ and online at RE-NJ.com. Until next time, thanks for reading. Enjoy the issue!
Joshua Burd
Editor
