Duke Realty Buys 3.1 MSF Industrial Portfolio

By Keith Loria

ePort Logistics Center in Perth Amboy, N.J.

The New Jersey office of Duke Realty has acquired a 3.1 million-square-foot industrial portfolio comprising six newly constructed buildings and two land sites for future development, all within the state of New Jersey.

With the acquisition, Duke Realty’s New Jersey industrial portfolio increased to 5.6 million square feet. All of the new acquisitions are situated along the I-95 corridor, starting at the Exit 8A submarket and continuing north to the Meadowlands submarket.

The portfolio includes:

• the 264,085-square-foot 10 Broadway Road in Cranbury
• the 488,884-square-foot 377-387 Davidson’s Mill Road in South Brunswick
• the 220,200-square-foot 960 High St. in Perth Amboy
• the 718,200-square-foot 980 High St. in Perth Amboy
• the 354,250-square-foot 1000 High St. in Perth Amboy
• the 206,500-square-foot 900 Federal Blvd. in Carteret

“New Jersey is one of the premier industrial markets in the country and currently benefits from exceptionally robust market fundamentals,” Ben Rosen, Duke Realty’s vice president of leasing and development in New Jersey, told Commercial Property Executive. “The market has always benefited from its immediate proximity to the New York metropolitan area and greater Northeast.”

According to Rosen, New Jersey’s especially strong run has resulted in all-time-low vacancy rates and some of the highest rents in the country.

“Given an acute lack of existing modern buildings and extended development time frames, a majority of new buildings are leasing prior to completion,” he said. “We intend to hold these properties for a very long time. Our top priority is completing construction and stabilizing the properties.”

The entire portfolio of properties was delivered in the past 12 months and boast features designed to enhance product storage and distribution, such as 36-foot clear heights and ample automobile and trailer parking.

Staying busy in industrial

Duke Realty has already started development of a 661,000-square-foot warehouse at 429 Delancy St. in Newark, with an expected delivery date sometime by the end of 2018. The company also acquired a parcel at 5 Ethel Blvd. in Wood-Ridge, on which a 194,000-square-foot warehouse is proposed.

Duke Realty first entered the New Jersey market 11 years ago, with the acquisition of a former GM plant in Linden, and immediately began redevelopment of the site. The company has delivered three warehouses on the site since then, totaling 1.1 million square feet, now 100 percent leased.

Last month, Duke Realty signed Acer Service Corp. to a 166,024-square-foot lease at Lockport 16508 in Lockport, Ill. Also in February, the company signed e-commerce retailer Velky Brands to a 75,232-square-foot lease at another industrial facility in Chicago‘s submarket of Romeoville, Ill.

Image courtesy of Duke Realty