Grow NJ Credits Help Konica Minolta Close Ramsey Sale/Leaseback Deals
The transaction will help facilitate the relocation of administrative functions and a distribution operation currently located in Windsor, CT.
RAMSEY, NJ—A $29 million Grow New Jersey grant helped facilitate dual sale/leaseback transactions for Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA on Williams Drive in Ramsey, NJ. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the deal, which enables the consolidation of the technology and IT services firm’s US operations into a single, northern New Jersey campus.
Richard Baumstein and Marc Graham, based in Cushman & Wakefield’s East Rutherford, NJ, office, serve as national real estate advisors for Konica Minolta. The team represented the company in contracting to purchase 133 Williams Drive, a 171,500-square-foot industrial asset. Dan Foley of Savills Studley served as broker for the seller, Prestige Motors.
Baumstein and Graham, along with Manhattan-based Cushman & Wakefield sale-leaseback specialists Ben Cooper and Peyton Horn, then brokered a 277,900-square-foot package involving the 133 Williams Drive contract assumption and sale of the adjacent, 100 Williams Drive from Konica Minolta to LCN Capital Partners. A 106,400-square-foot office asset, 100 Williams Drive is the long-time home of Konica Minolta’s headquarters operation.
Konica Minolta, which currently employs 474 people in Ramsey, leased back both buildings on a long-term basis. The firm continues to own a third, 85,000-square-foot combination warehouse/office building at 101 Williams Drive. Plans call for relocating the 101 Williams Drive warehouse operation to 133 Williams Drive, and replacing that portion of the building with a 52,000-square-foot office addition and structured parking. Ultimately, the new, unified campus will accommodate up to 400 additional jobs, according to a Konica Minolta press release. The job growth will include the relocation of administrative functions and a distribution operation currently located in Windsor, CT.
“Konica Minolta’s presence in this neighborhood dates to the early 1970s, when 101 Williams Drive was built,” says Baumstein, who maintains a decade-long relationship with the organization. “The company’s various mergers and expansions into new product lines – including smart office technology products, industrial printing and managed services – are driving significant growth. This series of calculated moves paves the way for Konica Minolta to create an exciting, modern work environment while gaining efficiencies and accommodating future growth – all while remaining in place.”