CRG Completes Sale of New Jersey Industrial Portfolio to Watson Land Company for $107.74 Million

JLL Capital Markets closed the disposition which includes two new, fully-leased warehouses totalling 535,790 square feet

EAST GREENWICH, New Jersey (August 2021) – CRG, the real estate development and investment arm of Chicago-based Clayco, today announced the sale of two speculative industrial facilities in East Greenwich, New Jersey, for $107.74 million. The firm sold The Cubes at Huff Lane, a 283,040 square-foot building, and The Cubes at Harmony Road, a 252,750 square-foot building, both located in the East Greenwich Logistics Center.

The sale to Watson Land Company was brokered by JLL, who managed the leasing process for both facilities. Both facilites were developed by CRG in a joint venture partnership with Pacific Coast Capital Partners, LLC (“PCCP”) and completed in Septmber 2020. The Cubes at Harmony Road is  located at 191 Harmony Road and is fully leased to Elogistic, a global e-commerce fulfillment company. The second building, located at 100 Huff Lane, is fully leased to an international automotive company.

“Each of these buildings was a major success for our clients and capital partners,” said Frank Petkunas, senior vice president, partner and Northeast industrial leader for CRG. “The ability to have last mile accessibility to Philadelphia and each of the major freeways gave us a strategic position in the market. We continue to see major e-commerce users and logistics users prioritize the Southern New Jersey industrial markets, so you can expect CRG to continue to establish its footprint here to meet those needs.”

East Greenwich Logistics Center is located adjacent to Interstate 295 and has regional proximity to the New Jersey Turnpike and I-95. CRG develops its industrial buildings under The Cubes brand, which prioritizes core national markets with access to major population centers and strong local workforces in key logistics corridors. Since 2018, the firm has broken ground on approximately 18 million square feet of The Cubes projects across the country, more than 10 million square feet of which has already been delivered. 

“This is the strongest industrial market of our lifetimes, and today’s users require best-in-class, next generation facilities to keep pace with that demand,” said Shawn Clark, president of CRG. “That’s the standard we put into each of The Cubes, and these two in East Greenwich were no different. We develop these buildings with the most vertically integrated development and investment platform in the country, and each successful sale helps us prove that.”

The two facilities were designed by CRG’s integrated partner Lamar Johnson Collaborative, while its parent company Clayco managed construction. Both warehouses feature 36-foot clear heights and early suppression fast response (ESFR) fire sprinkler systems. The Cubes at Huff Lane featured 43 loading doors, 187 parking spaces and 60 trailer stalls, while The Cubes at Harmony Road included 38 loading doors, 208 parking spaces and 79 trailer stalls.

The sale is the sixth industrial asset disposition for CRG in the past year, which sold NorthPark Distribution Center One in St. Louis on March 16; The Cubes at DuPont in Seattle on Dec. 28, 2020 to Duke Realty; a 1,002,150- square foot e-commerce warehouse sale to KKR at The Cubes at Bridgeport in Coweta County, Georgia on Sept. 25, 2020; and an the additional KKR purchase of a 350,000 speculative warehouse in Portland, Oregon on July 17, 2020.       

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the sellers was led by Senior Managing Director John Plower, Director Ryan Cottone and Analyst Zach Maguire, along with Vice Chairman Paul Torosian, Managing Director Dean Torosian and Executive Managing Director Nate Demetsky.

“We saw a tremendous amount of investor interest in this offering due to the high quality of construction, in-fill location and the in-place cash flow that both leases provide.” Plower said. “Southern New Jersey is a great distribution location, as it provides easy access locally and regionally along I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike and is just across the river from Philadelphia’s massive population center.”

About CRG:
CRG is a privately held real estate development firm that has developed more than 9,000 acres of land and delivered over 200 million square feet of commercial, industrial, institutional and multifamily assets exceeding $12 billion in value. CRG leverages a powerful North American platform with local market expertise and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Southern California, St. Louis and Philadelphia. CRG’s philosophy of developing for the future and anticipating the enhanced needs of next generation users led to the creation of its industrial brand, The Cubes, and its multifamily brand, Chapter. For more information, visit CRG’s website at www.realcrg.com.

About The Cubes:
The Cubes is a North American industrial brand owned and developed by CRG. The Cubes represents CRG’s philosophy of developing for the future and anticipating the enhanced needs of tomorrow’s modern industrial user. The Cubes are designed with an emphasis on sustainability, and implement state-of-the-art specifications, including maximum clear heights, dock doors and trailer storage to keep pace with the shift to consumer-centric logistic strategies. The Cubes are located on strategic sites that take into consideration both logistics and labor supply, always with the end user in mind.

About Watson Land Company:
Watson Land Company is a developer, owner and manager of industrial properties throughout Southern California and the East Coast. With a century of success as our legacy, Watson’s dedication to its customers is based upon delivering functional, high quality buildings within master-planned centers, coupled with unmatched customer service.

Watson was the first industrial developer in Southern California to design and construct speculative industrial buildings in accordance with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED®) guidelines.

Watson’s assets and operations are backed by one of the most conservatively managed balance sheets in the real estate industry. Unlike public companies whose capital raising capacity is subject to market cycles or smaller developers who are vulnerable to credit crunches, Watson’s stable financial resources enable the Company to fund projects regardless of external market forces.

Watson Land Company’s long-standing tradition of integrity, innovation and fiscal responsibility has made it one of the region’s most respected names in commercial real estate and one of the largest industrial developers in the nation.

About JLL:
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.6 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 91,000 as of March 31, 2021. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Glenn LaFollette, CRG Director of Marketing & Communications

lafolletteg@realcrg.com

+1 312 286 6494

Kimberly Steele, JLL Senior Associate, Public Relations

kimberly.steele@am.jll.com

+1 713 852 3420