The building is owned by the J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc. of Asbury, NJ, which bought it last July from Viacom for an undisclosed price. The buy was part of the company's strategy of acquiring facilities with upside potential within the Garden State's port region--it's located less than four miles from Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port of Newark/Elizabeth.

Since the acquisition last summer, full-building tenant Survivor Technologies, with its lease just about up, had become the focus of a tug-of-war of sorts. The company is the largest employer in this city of 22,000, situated just southwest of Newark.

"While we were optimistic about the prospects of signing a new lease with Survivor, we were planning a complete renovation of the facility for use by a port- or airport-related company," according to Jim Petrucci, president of J.G. Petrucci Co., who notes that the 17.8-acre site is within an urban enterprise zone. "Despite the company being offered generous lease terms and incentives at other facilities throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, they renewed with us."

"We are especially grateful to Hillside officials for their efforts in meeting the needs of Survivor Technologies," adds Rob Kossar, who heads leasing and acquisitions for Petrucci. "This was a win-win transaction."

And the facility will get its makeover anyway. Under the new lease, Petrucci and Survivor Technologies plan to make "considerable improvement to the property," according to Petrucci. Originally built in 1960, the building includes a total of 15,000 sf of built-out office and mezzanine space.

The Petrucci organization, founded in 1987, currently owns and manages a portfolio of some 2.5 million sf of office and industrial properties. The company has also completed more than five million sf of development and design/build construction projects for such clients as FedEx, Allied Worldwide, Cryovac/Sealed Air and Midas Muffler.