MOUNT OLIVE-Exeter Property Group has acquired the 684-acre International Trade Center industrial portfolio here for $59 million.

CBRE brokered the deal, which includes eight buildings with 1.2 million square feet of space, plus three development sites. The sellers were Mount Olive Industrial Realty Company and 850 Clark Drive LLC.

The complex includes research & development, light assembly and some office space along with industrial space. Its tenants include Agilent, FedEx, L3 Communications, Rudolph Technologies and Seiko. BASF left its million-square-foot building in 2004, and it has been one of the largest unoccupied spaces in the state ever since.

In January, the State Planning Commission had redesignated 413 acres at the International Trade Center for development, in a move that Mt. Olive officials applauded and environmentalists criticized. The acreage had been classified as “environmentally sensitive” land, and that protective designation was lifted.

The change makes the developable land eligible for business incentive programs aimed at boosting job growth.

Kevin Welsh of CBRE said there was intense interest in the trade center property, and that more than a dozen potential buyers toured it.

Bill Waxman, also of CBRE, noted that a number of the buildings are “Class A,” i.e., newer and LEED-certified, which makes them hot properties in today's market.

Various developers have begun speaking of a “shortage” of Class A industrial property in New Jersey, and several are saying they will begin speculative building before the end of this year.