JLL Capital Markets arranged a $34 million construction loan for the development of a new, 140,000 s/f cold storage facility within the Port Industrial Submarket on the border of Elizabeth and Newark, New Jersey.
JLL worked on behalf of the developer, Elberon Development Group and Fidelco Realty Group, to place the 22-year construction to permanent loan with one of JLL’s correspondent insurance company relationships.
The refrigerated warehouse will be built-to-suit for FreezPak Logistics, a New Jersey-based third-party logistics company. This will be FreezPak’s fifth New Jersey location. The facility will feature 10.5 million cubic feet of space, 18 docks and 30,000 pallet positions while also providing excess trailer parking.
The building will be constructed on a 7.85-acre site at 1029 Newark Ave. on the border of Elizabeth and Newark just four miles from Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Newark-Elizabeth. Additionally, the suburban New York City location places the facility in a dense, infill area that can service a diverse consumer base.
Cold storage has become a priority in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in dense population centers like the New York Metropolitan area where more than 20 million residents live and where the demand for fresh food and online groceries is high and will continue to remain constant.
JLL Research in its Cold storage in the post-COVID economy whitepaper detailed key trends across the cold storage sector, including the importance of keeping the food supply chain moving, especially in the middle and last mile. There is an increase in third party-logistics companies, like FreezPak, servicing the Food and Beverage sector.
The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Directors Michael Klein and Jon Mikula and Director Max Custer.
“JLL is thrilled to have represented the joint venture between Elberon Development Group and Fidelco Realty Group on this transaction,” said Klein. “The borrower was looking to secure construction financing and take advantage of today’s historically low long-term interest rates.
“The strong reputation of the two sponsors in the market, the premier location of the site and a long-term lease from a credit-worthy tenant enabled us to secure a very attractive long-term construction perm loan from one of our correspondent life insurance companies,” he added.
