The approval process follows Matrix's acquisition, in late 2003, of the site and an existing 200,000-sf warehouse building once occupied by Permalite Plastics Corp. and the Stauffer Chemical Co. As reported by GlobeSt.com, the existing building was vacant and Matrix officials quickly announced their intention to tear it down and start over. That part of the project was completed late last year.

The replacement building will rise as a speculative project in what is currently one of the country's hottest industrial markets. Located at 45 Stults Rd. in this Middlesex County township, the property is in the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8A submarket.

"Our plans to redevelop the site are currently under way," Griffin confirms. "Based on its location, less than half a mile from the Exit 8A interchange, and its design, we expect the demand for 45 Stults Rd. to be very strong."

When it's finished in about a year, the new building will feature 36-foot minimum clear height, according to Griffin, as well as 77 dock door positions, all new infrastructure and utilities, rail access and 66 trailer storage spaces. The location is about halfway between New York and Philadelphia.

Besides speculative development, Matrix has done a number of big-box buildings in the region for such corporate names as Sony, WW Grainger, Lenox, Seamans and the Associated Press, among others. In the past two months alone, the company has signed more than five million sf worth of industrial leases in the New Jersey marketplace.