The industrial site, situated on 21.25 acres in Philadelphia, sits at the base of the Betsy Ross Bridge — and features clear heights ranging from 19 to 21 feet, 30 loading doors, one drive-in door and more than 350 parking spaces.
The purchase, announced by the JLL Capital Markets team in the summer of 2021, was for $31.5 million.
These facts and figures are the kind of numbers only a commercial real estate insider would crave — but they go a long way to illustrate the current run of success of East Brunswick-based Greek Development.
The purchase, Greek’s first in Center City, is now part of the firm’s planned future development pipeline of more than 2.5 million square feet, valued at over $1 billion.
The vertically integrated real estate firm, which is focused on industrial development, has been one of the most active buyers of development sites in the market since 2018. It has acquired $320 million worth — over 2.7 million square feet — of industrial property in the last two years, as well as $300 million in property sales.
About Greek Development
Since it was founded in 1934, Greek Development has completed over 30 million square feet of development projects and has built an outstanding reputation for excellence in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania industrial real estate markets. Currently ranked the third-largest real estate developer in New Jersey, the company manages every phase of the development process, including site selection, design, construction, leasing, property management and tenant relations.
Greek manages a portfolio encompassing over 20 million square feet in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, Greek was listed as an Industrial Deal of the Year finalist by NAIOP New Jersey for Samsung @ Linden Logistics Center, Linden.
In one of the largest transactions of the year, Samsung secured 735,220 square feet in New Jersey’s largest industrial park under development, at the footsteps of Port Newark/Elizabeth, from survey to lease execution in just two months. Greek Development, Advance Realty Investors and JLL were listed as leading the deal.
Managing Partner David Greek attributes the firm’s robust activity in the recent past to the successful growth of Greek’s acquisitions team — consisting of himself, Director of Acquisitions Alex Motiuk and acquisitions & development associate Patrick Ramirez.
“Since we brought on Alex and Pat, our underwriting process has become more sophisticated and efficient, allowing us to pursue a wider range of projects simultaneously,” Greek said.
The team also has secured $675 million in financing on 5.5 million square feet of development; executed 2.6 million square feet of leasing activity; and ultimately totaled $1.26 billion in aggregate deal volume over the last year.
Motiuk said it’s the result of hard work — and a sharp eye.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to find overlooked and underutilized properties in some of the most supply-constrained regions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania — and then use our in-house specialists to create best-in-class industrial assets for blue-chip tenants,” he said.
“I’m extremely proud of what this team has accomplished in such a short span of time. I look forward to continuing our success and growth in 2023. Greek has had a strong foothold in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania markets, with a recent expansion into center city Philadelphia and northern Delaware.”
Motiuk joined Greek from CBRE in 2018 as an acquisitions & development associate. Prior to that, he was an assistant vice president at Transwestern, where he represented clients in more than 3.5 million square feet of leasing and sale transactions.
After fewer than four years at Greek, Motiuk was promoted to director of acquisitions, where he uses his market knowledge to identify and underwrite acquisition targets for the company and its investors. Motiuk also takes a primary role in negotiating purchase agreements, leases on new developments and agreements with investors, brokers and consultants.
Along the way, Motiuk recognized the need for a full-time analyst to bring the team to the next level. In 2021, Greek hired Ramirez to allow Motiuk more time to source new development, redevelopment and acquisition opportunities in addition to managing relationships.
“Pat was a critical addition to our team and has added tremendous value,” Motiuk said. “We spent a few months after he was hired educating him about the industrial world, but he was a fast learner and his underwriting skills allowed Greek to look at more opportunities with a new level of sophistication soon after he was brought onboard, allowing us to expand our reach.”
Ramirez had previously worked at PGIM as an investment analyst in its senior housing fund, and previously at Goldman Sachs in collateral management. He’s happy to be at Greek.
“Greek is a fast-paced and exciting place to work,” he said. “It feels good to be part of a creative and entrepreneurial team. Though there is some economic uncertainty looking forward, I feel confident that the acquisitions team at Greek Development will use our unique position and skillset in the market to continue the success we’ve had over the last five years.”
