From left: Turnbridge Equities founder Andrew Joblon and Hines’ Jeff Hines with 397-447 Ferry Street (Hines, Getty)
It’s a new year, but some of the country’s biggest real estate companies are turning to an old friend from the pandemic: industrial real estate.
Hines purchased a three-property industrial portfolio in Newark, New Jersey for $127.5 million. The deal was announced by the seller, Turnbridge Equities, which co-owned the Newark Distribution Center with Long Wharf Capital.
The 738,000-square-foot last-mile facility, formerly known as the Ballantine Brewery Complex, spans 19 acres at 397-447 Ferry Street. The facility is fully occupied, featuring tenants including Iron Mountain, One Stop Logistics and Worldpac.
Turnbridge and Long Wharf acquired the property in May 2021 for $92 million. The joint venture completed a $13 million renovation after acquiring the facility. In May 2022, it carved out a portion of 425 Ferry Street and sold it to Storage Blue for $8.3 million.
The distribution center, situated in an Opportunity Zone, is only two miles from the Port of Newark. It also provides easy access to the greater New York City Metropolitan area.
JLL represented Turnbridge in the sale.
Turnbridge has kept busy in the industrial real estate sector. Last month, an entity connected to the company bought a trio of warehouses in Hunts Point in the Bronx for $15.3 million from an entity tied to heating contractor Easco Boiler Corporation. The warehouses are only minutes away from Turnbridge’s five-property, 14.2-acre Bronx Logistics Center at 920-980 East 149th Street in Hunts Point.
Hines has its hands in industrial interests in New Jersey and beyond. The firm is in the process of developing a spec warehouse spanning more than 420,000 square feet in the Dallas suburb of Wilmer. The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year and cost $25 million.
The New Jersey industrial market has been one of the hottest in the entire nation, a bonafide boomtown for warehouses and distribution centers. However, recent months have brought signs of a market that may have peaked.
