Liberty Property Trust, based in Malvern, PA with a New Jersey office in Marlton, owns the 384,000-sf 11 Technology Dr. It's one of 23 buildings totaling 2.5 million sf that the REIT, through its affiliate Liberty Venture I LP, owns within the Pureland Industrial Complex, a sprawling 3,000-acre park in several South Jersey communities. Terms of the lease were not disclosed, however, vacant space in the building is listed on Liberty's website with an asking price of $4.25 per sf.

"We expect that this new location will give us the platform to grow for many, many years," says Bill Ciminello, executive vice president of Priority. "Southern New Jersey is at the nexus of our East Coast customer base, and it is a natural fit for our company." Priority will initially relocate 180 employees to its new HQ location. Beyond that, "as the company grows we expect to hire from within the community," according to the company's president Chris Carpenter.

Joe Gallagher of the Flynn Co., based in Philadelphia, represented Priority in the long-term deal. Liberty Property Trust was represented in-house by Mark Goldstein, the company's senior leasing and development rep.

Built back in 2000 by the East Brunswick, NJ-based Frank Greek & Co., the 42-acre asset was acquired from that firm in the summer of 2003 by the Liberty Property Trust affiliate. As reported by GlobeSt.com, Liberty paid $12.8 million for the building, which factors out to $33.33 per sf.

At the time of the acquisition, 11 Technology Dr. was more than half vacant, with the California-based La Brea Bakery Inc. occupying 184,000 sf for warehousing and distribution. Tech Data is another tenant in the building.

"We purchased 11 Technology Dr. believing that the property, and the township, would be very attractive to growing companies like Priority Air Express," says Rob James, vice president of Liberty. "We also knew we would have the help of the township, which made the people at Priority comfortable with their decision."