The New Jersey industrial market started the year strong in both sales volume and pricing. According to CommercialEdge’s March industrial report, industrial properties in the state traded at an average of $339 per square foot through February to make it the second-most expensive industrial market in the country behind only Orange County, Calif., at $340 per square foot. New Jersey also logged the second-highest total industrial sales volume nationwide, reaching $351 million year-to-date. Only Dallas posted a higher figure with $415 million in sales.

Additionally, and much like Dallas, New Jersey recorded one of the highest vacancy rates in the country in February at 9.5%. That marks a year-over-year increase of 490 basis points and stands well above the national average of 8.2% — a trend shared by many Northeastern markets. Here, a key factor has been ongoing supply: As of February, 6.47 million square feet of industrial space is under construction across the market, which is only slightly down from the 7.1 million square feet underway at the same point in 2024.

Deal Flow Continues With Taconic, Prologis & Others Driving Momentum

Transaction activity has remained brisk since February with a flurry of notable deals.

Among them, Taconic Partners paid $74.3 million for a 367,000-square-foot industrial property at 1735 Jersey Ave. in North Brunswick, which is within the I-287 South submarket. That breaks down to more than $202 per square foot. The New York-based investor acquired the fully leased facility from Saadia Group and financed the deal with a $46.6 million loan from JP Morgan with JLL brokering the transaction.

Originally built in 1962 and cosmetically renovated in 2017, the Class B property sits on 17 acres near Exit 9 of the New Jersey Turnpike. It features 24-foot clear heights, 24 dock doors, rail access and outdoor storage. Tenants include Kamps Inc. (a major pallet distributor) and Luxe Living Design.

“This acquisition represents a strategic opportunity to continue to expand our New Jersey industrial portfolio with a fully stabilized property at an attractive going-in yield with future upside,” said Chris Balestra, president and CIO at Taconic Partners.

The deal was sourced off-market and marks the firm’s second industrial acquisition in the Garden State.

Meanwhile, earlier in March, Middlebrook Crossroads — a fully leased, 18-building industrial park in Somerset County — traded for $110.4 million. Terreno Realty sold the 38-acre, 581,000-square-foot property to SREIT Middlebrook, which is a partnership between Lovett Industrial and Starwood Real Estate Income Trust. The asset is located on Chimney Rock Road between Route 22 and I-287. It was 76% leased when Terreno acquired it in 2010 for $27 million and is now fully occupied by 29 tenants, per Terreno.

Also in March, Prologis added more than 1 million square feet in New Jersey through two acquisitions: The first was a 600,000-square-foot facility in South Brunswick that was purchased from ARC Realty for $166.8 million. Located at 201 Middlesex Center Blvd., the 2008-built warehouse includes 36-foot clear heights, 96 dock doors and a 180-foot truck court. It was 33% leased as of August 2024. Tenants include YMF Co. and Synnex.

The second property, recorded in late February, was a 488,884-square-foot warehouse at 773 Cranbury S. River Road. Built in 2017, it sits on nearly 35 acres and is subject to a 50-year ground lease that began in 2015.