EverWest JV Pays $20M for Northern New Jersey Warehouse

461 Ridge Road

On the heels of a strong 2020 for New Jersey industrial real estate, Woodmont Industrial Partners and EverWest Real Estate Investors have purchased a 144,551-square-foot distribution facility in South Brunswick, N.J., in a sale-leaseback transaction that marks the duo’s first joint venture. GDB International sold the asset for $19.8 million, public records show, following roughly eight years of ownership.

Paint recycling company GDB has been the sole occupant of the building at 461 Ridge Road since its $4.8 million purchase in 2013, according to CommercialEdge. Following the current disposition, the seller leased back the asset on a short-term basis. Once the present lease expires, the owners are planning to upgrade the property to meet current distribution and logistics tenant needs.

The 12-acre lot sits 5 miles from the New Jersey Turnpike, while Route 130 is less than 3 miles away. Built in the 1970s, the warehouse has 22-foot clear heights, 22 dock doors and three drive-in doors. The property also includes a 120-foot truck court and concrete tilt-up panels.

461 Ridge Road. Image via Google Maps

David Blitt of Bussel Realty worked on behalf of the seller. According to Real Estate NJ, the new owners were also part of a 104,000-square-foot industrial sale in New Jersey’s Meadowlands in late 2017, when EverWest bought the warehouse from Woodmont for an undisclosed price.

New Jersey-based Woodmont’s investment strategy focuses on the local Eastern markets, with roughly 4 million square feet traded by the company over the last several years. In 2020, EverWest has been an active player in the industrial sector across various markets in the U.S., including Seattle, Denver, Miami and California. Last May, the firm sold a two-building office campus totaling nearly 303,000 square feet in Berkeley Heights, N.J.

Booming market

Last year’s market shifts turned out to favor industrial real estate, especially when compared to hospitality or most of retail. Northern and Central New Jersey had a record high for net absorption of 11.8 million square feet in 2020, leading to an all-time vacancy low of 5.7 percent, according to a fourth-quarter CBRE report. The average asking rent for Class A space was $11.07 per square foot, up 5.8 percent year-over-year, while Class B taking rents also appreciated.

“New Jersey’s industrial market continues to be the brightest spot across all sectors in commercial real estate,” said CBRE Senior Vice President Larry Schiffenhaus in prepared remarks accompanying the report.