The San Francisco-based Catellus had earlier been named by the City of Elizabeth as the designated developer of the site, which is currently occupied by several obsolete industrial buildings. With the acquisition finalized, Catellus' development rights of up to a million sf of industrial space have become vested. Continental was represented by the Garibaldi Group/Corfac International.
"The property has excellent access to the New Jersey Turnpike, and it has proximity to the three biggest demand drivers in the region--the port, the airport and New York City," says Nelson C. Rising, Catellus' chairman and CEO. "And historical restraints in the area have led to a short supply of new industrial product, resulting in low vacancy and rising rents."
"The complex nature of the transaction required addressing the input and needs of interested parties from both the private and public sectors," says F. John Fatigati, senior vice president and managing director for the Chatham-based Garibaldi Group. "The transaction allows both Continental and Catellus to satisfy their long-term operational strategies."
Located near Exit 13A of the New Jersey Turnpike, the site is part of an area that city officials are trying to recast from heavy manufacturing operations to mixed uses, including warehouse/distribution, hotel and retail. The site is near the one-million-sf Jersey Gardens Mall, the initial Ikea store opened in the US and Maersk Inc. and Maher Terminals.
As announced earlier, what Catellus has in mind is a multi-phased, multi-building warehouse/distribution development of up to one million sf, beginning with a 600,000-sf speculative building. The existing buildings have to be torn down, and the site itself has to be remediated, and actual construction isn't expected to begin before the second half of 2006.
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