Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Leases at Cranbury, NJ, Property

17 Apr, 2012, Cranbury, NJ

A lease expansion for one tenant at 324 Half Acre Road in Cranbury and a reduction/extension for a second has secured the building's continued full occupancy, announced commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. USAA Real Estate Company's US Industrial REIT II owns the 680,000-square-foot, Class A distribution facility.

Hardware and housewares manufacturer Howard Berger Company, Inc. added 60,000 square feet to its long-term commitment, bringing its headquarters operation at 324 Half Acre Road to 297,000 square feet. At the same time, logistics giant Kuehne & Nagel, Inc. decreased its space at the building by that same amount and extended its multi-year lease, which now totals 383,000 square feet.

Cushman & Wakefield's Stan Danzig and Jules Nissim, based at the firm's East Rutherford, N.J., office, represented US Industrial REIT II in both transactions. As exclusive marketing agents for the property, they also brokered Howard Berger Company's and Kuehne & Nagel's original leases at the property in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Teams from CBRE represented the two tenants in the recent expansion and reduction/extension.

"Kuehne & Nagel's lease was coming up for renewal, and they had some surplus accommodations," Nissim said. "At the same time, Howard Berger Company required additional space. The timing and the square footage worked out perfectly. Some compromise and a lot of flexibility from both tenants, and creativity on the part of USAA Real Estate Company came together to implement what really is an ideal solution."

Danzig and Nissim's involvement with 324 Half Acre Road dates back more than a decade. The 55-acre parcel was part of a 115-acre campus that Church & Dwight inherited upon acquiring Carter Wallace's consumer products division in 2000. Soon after, Church & Dwight retained the Cushman & Wakefield team to dispose of the property.

The assignment ultimately resulted in the campus' bifurcation into four subdivisions for multiple buyers. Danzig and Nissim arranged Rockefeller Group Development Corporation's (RGDC) purchase of the 324 Half Acre Road parcel in 2006. RGDC subsequently appointed the team as exclusive agent for the new construction, which replaced obsolete lab and office/manufacturing buildings on the site. In addition to brokering the Keuhne & Nagel and Howard Berger Company leases, Danzig and Nissim also served as part of the team that orchestrated the 2008 sale of 324 Half Acre Road from RGDC to US Industrial REIT II.

"With its modern accommodations, Foreign Trade Zone status and visibility from the New Jersey Turnpike, 324 Half Acre Road has successfully attracted two solid credit tenants as well as a reputable owner," Danzig said. "It truly is gratifying to see the property succeed in its second iteration. We are pleased to be part of its continued success story."

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