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Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Logistics joint venture wraps construction on NJ two-building speculative warehouse project

By Lauren Diggs CoStar Research

A joint venture between NFI Real Estate and Penwood Real Estate Investment Management has completed construction on the Exit 5 Industrial Park, a two-building speculative logistics development totaling 528,478 square feet at 800 Irick Road in Burlington County, New Jersey.

The project, also marketed as Turnpike 5 Logistics Park, consists of a 310,000-square-foot building in Burlington Township and a 218,478-square-foot facility in Westampton located off Exit 5 of the New Jersey Turnpike. Both buildings are fully available for lease following their July 2026 completion.

The single-side load facilities have 36-foot clear heights, extensive trailer parking, heavy power and functional building and site configurations designed to meet modern logistics requirements. Building A includes two drive-in bays and 286 standard parking spaces, while Building B has 26 dock doors and 120 car parking spaces.

The joint venture partnership between NFI Real Estate and Penwood secured $54 million in construction financing from Fifth Third Bancorp for the development.

NFI is a privately held supply chain services provider based in Camden, New Jersey, owned by the Brown family. Its development partner, Penwood Real Estate Investment Management, is a real estate investment advisory firm based in West Hartford, Connecticut.

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Apartment concessions in Philadelphia beginning to ease from winter highs

By Brenda Nguyen CoStar Analytics

While rental concessions across Philadelphia's apartment sector remain well above historical levels, landlords across the city’s most in-demand neighborhoods are starting to dial back renter specials in 2026.

Over the past several years, developers added thousands of new units across such urban neighborhoods as Center City, Northern Liberties and Fishtown. As new units flooded into the market, landlords increasingly relied on incentives, such as free rent and move-in specials, to lease up their available units and maintain occupancy, rather than cutting rents outright.

Concession rates measure the discount off asking rent that renters receive through free rent and other incentives, such as gift cards or moving credits. The relationship between new supply, vacancy rates and concessions is particularly evident in Philadelphia's most heavily developed neighborhoods.

Citywide, the apartment vacancy rate stands at 8.5%, while the concession rate is 4.4%.

In Center City, where apartment vacancy is lower, at 7.7%, the concession rate is roughly 4%. Northern Liberties, the city's most actively developed neighborhood, reports the highest vacancy rate at 15.3% and a concession rate of 7.6%. Fishtown shows a similar pattern, with vacancy at 10.7% and concessions near 6.4%.

Those discounts have been shrinking since last winter. In Northern Liberties, concessions dropped from a winter peak of 11.2% to 7.6% this summer. Fishtown saw a similar decline, falling from 8.6% to 6.4% over the same period.

With renter demand still robust and apartment vacancy tightening across these neighborhoods, concession rates are expected to ease further in the coming year, building on the momentum already seen since winter. In the meantime, renters can still find specials in these neighborhoods, while they last.

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Grocer Uncle Giuseppe’s serves up Northeast expansion

By Linda Moss CoStar News

Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace, a regional specialty grocer, is expanding its presence in New Jersey and venturing into Pennsylvania with two new stores next year.

The Melville, New York-based chain, a full-service supermarket specializing in Italian foods, on Tuesday said it will be opening locations at East Gate Square, 1311 Nixon Drive, Moorestown, New Jersey; and DeKalb Plaza, 320 W. DeKalb Pike, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

The two stores represent the next stage of Uncle Giuseppe’s Northeast expansion. Both locations are expected to open in late 2027.

Uncle Giuseppe’s has 13 locations now, including its newest store at Wheatley Plaza, 130 Wheatley Plaza, Greenvale, New York, which debuted earlier this month. The chain also plans to open a store at Levittown Plaza, 3284 Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown, New York, in the fourth quarter.

“King of Prussia and Moorestown are two markets we’ve been looking at for some time,” Carl DelPrete, Uncle Giuseppe’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. ”As we grow, we’re careful about where we go. We look for communities where we believe our stores will be a good fit and where customers are looking for fresh, quality food and good service.”

The Garden State remains crucial to Uncle Giuseppe’s, DelPrete said.

“New Jersey has been very good to us, and we continue to see opportunities there,” he said. “Moorestown gives us a chance to reach customers in South Jersey and continue growing in a market where people already know Uncle Giuseppe’s.”

Both stores are slated to feature the chain’s signature departments and fresh food, including fresh mozzarella made in-store, house-made pasta, full-service meat and seafood departments, an Italian deli, a made-from-scratch bakery, prepared foods, fresh produce, specialty cheeses, imported Italian products, catering and a complete selection of traditional grocery items.

Much of the Uncle Giuseppe’s shopping experience centers on food prepared fresh and in full view of customers, including watching pasta being made, according to the chain.