Industrial Attention Shifting To S. Jersey As F. Greek Launches New Logistics Facility

by Steve Lubetkin, Globest.com
As space availabilities continue to tighten and warehouse rents soar in Northern New Jersey, South Jersey is getting more attention from developers and tenants seeking industrial distribution locations.

“A lot of it has to do with the lack of availability of class-A space elsewhere in the state and the lack of availability of large format buildings that are available to lease anywhere else in the state,” says David Greek of F. Greek Development. Greek discussed their new distribution facility in Logan Township in a wide-ranging interview with GlobeSt.com at the recent NAIOP I.CONN conference in Jersey City. “South Jersey, I think, plays an important role in that development going forward. It’s easy access to four or five big metropolitan cities within a day’s drive.”

The building is the 3.3 million-square-foot warehouse/distribution asset located at 2858 U.S. Route 322 in Logan Township.

“You can get from DC all the way up to Boston in a day’s drive of this site, so it creates a great hub for large distribution clients that are looking to put a large footprint down and service a lot of different markets. South Jersey is still affordable for a lot of people, as well. We’ve seen rent growth really climb, especially for infill in northern Jersey. We’ve seen 10-plus percent rent growth over the last three or four years, and a lot of tenants are getting priced out of that market, especially in the big format buildings. They’re looking for something more affordable.”

The owners originally bought the 415-acre property to the current owners in late 2016. It was the largest non-deep-water-port industrial land site sold in New Jersey that year. The Port of Philadelphia has high-cost and high-wage challenges, but he says there are positive factors as well.

“It’s also the epicenter of the largest demographic base of consumers in the United States in terms of income and disposable spending. We see a lot of our clients come in, they test the market, they like what they see.”

The widening of the New Jersey Turnpike south to Exit 6 in Burlington County has helped South Jersey.

“Interstate 195 at about exit 7 had been essentially a barrier for a lot of firms that were importing goods to the ports of Newark and Elizabeth. Since the widening of the Turnpike, that that traffic has been flowing, and we’ve seen really a lot more demand for our clients, south of Exit 6 down to where the Logan North project is based.”

Developed in partnership with Advance Realty, the master-planned industrial campus consists of 11 buildings ranging in size from 90,000 square feet to 1.1 million square feet with build-to-suit opportunities. Best-in-class design features include 40- to 45-foot maximum ceiling heights, slab-on-grade construction with live floor loads that exceed over 500 pounds per square foot, and industry leading trailer parking and loading ratios.

“The efficiency of the building is becoming increasingly important for a lot of tenants,” Greek says. “The way you design it, speed in and out of the building is really important. We’ve been paying a lot of attention to the speed bays of the buildings, and how much room the tenants have to maneuver inside.”

Situated at a mid-point between New York City and Washington D.C., in the heart of the country’s richest consumer demographic, Logan North offers unparalleled proximity to the region’s deep-water ports and transportation infrastructure. The Park provides direct access to Interstate 295, U.S. Route 322 and the New Jersey Turnpike, and is serviced by two Class 1 railroads, Norfolk Southern and CSX. It is located just 15 miles from Philadelphia Airport and the PhilaPort complex, 93 miles from the Port of Newark and Elizabeth, and 88 miles from the Port of Baltimore.

Under the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Grow NJ incentive program, Logan Township qualifies as a Priority Area. Tenants of Logan North would receive a base grant of $3,000 per year, per new job created, for a term of 10 years. Retained jobs would be entitled to 50 percent of the new-employee base grant amount, and projects may be eligible for more than a dozen additional bonus grants.
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