Matrix Buys Into 1M-SF Industrial Property

Matrix has just acquired a partnership interest in 666 South Front St., an 18-acre site spanning more than one million sf of warehouse and industrial space in four buildings. The partnership is controlled by an affiliate of Roseland Property Group, Short Hills, NJ, with whom Matrix has done several ventures in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Donald M. Epstein, CFO and partner, and Richard FX Johnson, SVP and partner, led the acquisition for Matrix. The terms of the deal were not released.

"We have done extensive market and economic research and analysis of the port market, and we are very optimistic about both its short- and long-term growth potential," Johnson says. "The port area presently has an aggregate economic impact of $20 billion per year. With the channel dredging program and the amount of cargo activity expected over the next decade, this economic impact will grow exponentially. We anticipate tremendous demand for distribution space in this region."

Cory Brothers, a logistics company, occupies two buildings and just over one-third of the total space at the site, which is located directly south of the Goethals Bridge connecting New Jersey and Staten Island. Building A is a five-story, 615,000-sf asset with 315,000 sf available; Building B is a 305,600-sf facility with 265,600 sf available; Building C is a single-story, 12,800-sf services facility; and Building D is a three-story, 84,000-sf asset that is currently vacant.

Colliers Houston & Co. senior vice presidents Thomas F. Monahan and Howard P. Kaye, and associate Brian D. Milberg, have signed on to head the marketing effort for 666 South Front St. The effort is targeting importers, as well as businesses requiring from 20,000 to 300,000 sf of light manufacturing and assembly space.

The port's dredging project, referenced by Johnson, aims to increase channel depth to 45 feet by the end of this year and 50 feet by 2009 to accommodate ever-larger container vessels. The port plan also calls for a massive landside investment to increase through-put and capacity, as well as improved rail linkages.