NAI’s Verducci and Demmers reach milestone of over 350,000 square feet in lease deals at iconic property
Newark, N.J. (April 1, 2021) – NAI James E. Hanson announces it has negotiated an industrial lease for 6,000 square feet with Nextstop, LLC in the Ballantine Industrial Center at 397-447 Ferry Street in Newark, N.J. NAI James E. Hanson’s industrial team of Russell Verducci, SIOR, and Eric Demmers represented the landlord, Turnbridge Equities, LLC, in the transaction.
For over 115 years, the Ballantine Brewery was a well-known institution and key piece of Newark’s economic fabric. However, upon the closing of Ballantine’s Newark brewery in 1972, the tremendous location and adaptability of the site saw it reinvented as a multi-tenanted industrial property named the Ballantine Industrial Center.
Today, standing at over one million square feet, the Ballantine Industrial Center is ideally suited to attract a wide variety of industrial tenants hoping to find a home or expand their presence in the Ports market. Following its acquisition in 2019 in a joint venture between Turnbridge Equities and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, NAI James E. Hanson was retained to serve as exclusive broker for 726,525 square feet of space at 397-447 Ferry Street within the Ballantine Industrial Center.
However, after years of industrial usage, the property was lacking the features and upkeep that many modern industrial users value. Recognizing the deep potential of the site, the new institutional investors immediately began a $10,000,000 renovation to bring the building up to modern standards. Today, the Ballantine Industrial Center boasts industrial and office space in a variety of configurations with ample drive-ins, 13’ to 28’ ceilings, and brand-new service elevators.
Building upon ownership’s vision for the property, NAI Hanson’s team of Russell Verducci, SIOR, and Eric Demmers have leveraged their local market knowledge and expertise in industrial real estate to close over 350,000 square feet in leasing transactions at the site since late 2019. The latest lease with Nextstop, a third party on-demand warehousing, distribution and fulfillment platform serving international ecommerce sellers, has built upon their track record of success and showcases the versatility of the property in any economic climate.
“In what is already one of the nation’s most competitive regional industrial real estate markets, the Ports submarket continues to be defined by low supply and record-high demand,” said Verducci. “Through their visionary capital improvement plan at the Ballantine Industrial Center, Turnbridge Equities is capitalizing on this strong market to create a new economic engine for the City of Newark geared towards the evolving needs of 21st century companies. We are honored to continue to help them bring their vision to life through helping attract companies to this one-of-a-kind property.”
Interested tenants should contact NAI James E. Hanson listing brokers Russell Verducci, SIOR, 201-478-7470, rverducci@naihanson.com or Eric Demmers, 201-478-7390, edemmers@naihanson.com.
