That's why investors are willing to pay a pretty penny anytime a building or group of buildings becomes available. The latest example: AMB Property Corp. has acquired three industrial buildings totaling just under 135,000 sf for $7.8 million, or nearly $58 per sf.

Another trend is that a lot of the key players are from outside of the region. For example, AMB Property Corp. is based in San Francisco and has its nearest office in Boston. "For acquisitions, we're focusing on San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and New Jersey/New York, and not necessarily in that order," according to an AMB spokesman.

Altogether, AMB has some 91.6 million sf of space that it owns outright or as part of joint ventures, has under development, or manages. The firm has been aggressively picking up Meadowlands property in the last several years.

Sarofim Realty Advisors, based in Dallas, represented the seller, an unnamed pension fund. Sarofim manages a total of $50 billion worth of properties. The only New Jersey player in the transaction was the Financial Services Group at Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey, East Rutherford. The firm's Gary Gabriel, Andy Merin, David Bernhaut and Jose Cruz brokered the deal on behalf of the seller.

"The Meadowlands has become a preferred industrial location in this region," according to Gabriel. "The time had come for our client to dispose of the properties, and you can judge the health of the market by the response we got."

Of the three buildings, one is currently vacant and is being actively marketed. The other two are fully leased to Jolie Paper and Carlcraft Knit Sales.