A state with a huge demand for industrial space — and seemingly no supply — got a huge spark Monday.
The Millstone 8 Logistics Center development partnership, led by Crow Holdings Industrial, announced it has begun construction on two state-of-the-art logistics buildings — including one that is 1 million square feet — in Millstone.
The buildings, located at 505 Route 33 in Millstone, are part of the 140-acre acquisition that Crow and its partners, the Carlyle Group and 2020 Acquisitions, made in May. The second building is designed to be 220,000 square feet.
The Class A buildings, off Exit 8 on the New Jersey Turnpike, figure to be well-positioned to handle the New York City and Philadelphia markets, as well as everywhere in between. Construction is scheduled to be completed by the second quarter of 2022.
Clark Machemer, senior managing director at Crow Holdings Industrial, said the facility will meet a pressing need.
“Millstone 8 Logistics Center will meet a rapidly accelerating demand for modern logistics facilities in the Northeast, providing one of just a few options for tenants seeking occupancy of a million-square-foot building,” he said. “The improvements made to the Exit 8 interchange associated with the widening of the New Jersey Turnpike have made access to the property extremely efficient for industrial operations.
“Overall, this property will be a very attractive location for tenants seeking cutting-edge industrial space across the region.”
The two industrial buildings will be Class A modern logistics facilities featuring best-in-class site amenity ratios, full circulation and the ability for tenants to have independent security. The larger of the two buildings will feature a 40’ clear height, 274 dedicated trailer parking stalls and 172 loading doors. The 220,000-square-foot building will have a 36’ clear height, 37 dedicated trailer parking stalls and 50 loading doors in a cross-dock configuration.
The JLL team of Rob Kossar, Joel Lubin, Nate Demetsky and Leslie Lanne will handle the leasing.
Efrem Gerszberg, CEO of 2020 Acquisitions, is confident interest will be high.
“New Jersey remains one of the strongest industrial markets in the country, and developable land in proximity to the Turnpike has become increasingly hard to find,” he said. “With the e-commerce evolution, there is growing demand for distribution facilities with entitlements in hand, and we look forward to realizing our vision for the property in the near future.”
Michael Gershenson, managing director, the Carlyle Group, agreed.
“Carlyle has been actively investing in the logistics space for years where we continue to see strong industry tailwinds,” he said. “We look forward to partnering with Crow Holdings and 2020 Acquisitions in developing this world-class facility where we see significant value creation potential.”
The development partnership acquired the property in April 2021, after obtaining the purchase rights from Seth Gerszberg of Active Acquisitions, the initial developer on the project.
For Crow Holdings Industrial, the announcement comes roughly a year after the $164 million sale of 50 Veronica Ave., a newly-built, 925,000-square-foot property in Franklin Township. Over the past three years, Crow Holdings has amassed a development pipeline of 8 million square feet of industrial projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
