GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Crate and Barrel Signs 650,000-SF Build-to-Suit Deal

The project of the Rockefeller Group Development Corp., which offers some two million sf of build-to-suit opportunities, is located in the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8A submarket. Pending final site approvals, construction is expected to start in March. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"This is the first time Crate and Barrel has chosen to locate a distribution center in a foreign-trade zone," notes Eugene A. Preston, vice president of development for RGDC. "We're especially proud of the fact that Crate and Barrel executives were receptive to the idea of locating within an FTZ. Our national FTZ program was able to demonstrate the advantages related to movement of goods and savings in supply chain logistics."

Besides its 150-acre project here, Rockefeller has made a substantial mark in FTZ development, beginning, of course, with the sprawling 20-year-old International Trade Center in Mt. Olive, NJ in the northern part of the Garden State. Rockefeller is also developing two FTZs in Florida and one in the metro St. Louis area.

"After an exhaustive six-month search, we picked the Rockefeller Group FTZ because of its proximity to our stores, the highway access and the workforce," explains John J. Ling, vice president of logistics for the retailer. "This new facility will allow us to more effectively and efficiently supply our retail stores along the East Coast.

"It also provides us the opportunity to continue to improve and expand our national logistics network," continues Ling, who notes that the transaction includes an option for a future expansion of up to 275,000 sf. Crate and Barrel currently operates distribution centers in Hayward, CA, Naperville, IL and Dayton, NJ. Besides its retail stores, the company has a thriving catalog division and also sells online.

The complex will consist of two buildings, a 300,000-sf facility for furniture distribution and a 350,000-sf building for housewares, with the latter including a 9,000-sf factory outlet store. Crate and Barrel's immediate neighbor at the site will be Pearson Education, for whom Rockefeller recently completed an 890,000-sf warehouse/distribution center.

Crate and Barrel was represented in the transaction by Stan Danzig, Jules Nissim and Gene Spiegelman of Cushman & Wakefield of NJ, who also repped Rockefeller. "While the 8A market has historically been among the strongest warehouse/distribution markets in the region, spec construction last year introduced more than two million sf, a portion of which remains vacant," Danzig says.

"Within the context of today's market conditions in the corridor, it demonstrates the appeal of a build-to-suit within an FTZ location and reflects the creativity of all entities involved," Danzig says.