HACKETTSTOWN, NJ-Hampshire Cos., the Morristown-based investment fund manager, has picked yet another property on behalf of its new $350-million Fund VII, marking the third deal announced just this month. This time it's the Hackettstown Commerce Center, a 252,000-sf acquisition involving three existing buildings and a fourth under construction along Bilby Road here.

The seller was B&W Associates, another Morristown-based group. The deal was brokered by James Costanzo and Frank Kobola of the Parsippany office of Colliers Houston & Co. The sale price was not released. The 20-acre property is located adjacent to Allamuchy State Park.

The park consists of two existing industrial buildings totaling 130,000 sf, and approximately 95% leased to such tenants as US Kitchens & Baths, USDA/Rural Development, Ideal Industries and Buchman Construction Products. A third smaller building along Route 3 is occupied by Boston Market, and a fourth industrial flex building of 83,000 sf is under construction, slated for delivery in mid-2008.

"It offers a stable tenant base, and a variety of opportunities for our investors and a stabilized cash flow," says Norman Feinstein, Hampshire's executive managing director, who notes that yet another new building for either medical or industrial use is part of the longer term plan for the site. "We're confident that this acquisition will prove to be an excellent addition to our portfolio."

"The area has proven to be a popular alternative to the higher-priced urban markets to the east," says Colliers Houston's Costanzo. "The market isn't overbuilt and companies enjoy the still-rural character."

And about 30,000 sf of the new building has already been leased, according to Costanzo. "There is a limited amount of quality space available in the area, and we expect this to be absorbed very quickly."

As far as Hampshire's other very recent activity, the company announced earlier this month that it had acquired three industrial properties in New Jersey, totaling about 250,000 sf, in separate transactions. The company also announced that it had acquired Veterans Square Town Center, a 113,000-sf retail property in Lyndhurst. Both acquisitions were on behalf of its Fund VII.