$18M Takes 240,000-SF Industrial Complex

SOUTH HACKENSACK, NJ-The Hampshire Cos. has acquired 30 Wesley St., a 240,000-sf industrial complex of three interconnected buildings on 9.1 acres here. The private real estate investment fund manager bought the complex on behalf of its Hampshire Partners Fund VI.

The asset traded for $18.4 million or about $77 per sf. The seller was Spinnerin Inc., a fabric dying company, whose business has been winding down, rendering the owner/user’s space surplus. The building is currently 24% occupied by Smurfit-Stone, DC Apparel, the Lilli Group, Interfashion Cosmetics and Airmatic Compressor. The opportunity was brought to the Morristown-based Hampshire by NAI James E. Hanson of Hackensack.

“We purchased this low-occupancy asset because of its advantageous pricing and its strategic location in a market with limited vacancy and strong demand for small warehouse space,” says Norman Feinstein, EVP of the Hampshire Cos. “Our vision is to significantly improve the property and substantially upgrade the landscaping and reposition it in the marketplace to make it attractive to high-end users.”

The property, which has immediate access to Interstate 80 and is located near Teterboro Airport, was built in stages from 1948 to 1974. Hampshire’s rehab plans call for everything from the exterior demolition of obsolete water towers, to the demolition and reconfiguring of interior space to accommodate users of from 5,000 sf to 50,000 sf, repair and replacement of building systems and general site cleanup and re-landscaping.

“We expect to have our renovation plans in place by the end of this month,” Feinstein says. “We are anticipating strong demand that will result in reaching the 50% leased point by the beginning of 2006, and positive cash flow within a year.”

Hampshire Partners Fund VI is capitalized at $235 million of equity, and with the latest acquisition it is “now roughly 40% invested,” Feinstein says. “With the target leverage set at 60% to 65%, the fund will be acquiring approximately $350 million of additional real estate over the balance of its three-year investment period.”

Feinstein says the company is actively seeking out “well-located facilities that are attractive to, or currently under lease to investment-grade tenants, and add value so that our investors realize above-market returns.”

“The focus for this fund is on industrial, retail and suburban office products in the growth corridors of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic,” he adds.