Oxford, EverWest JV completes US$54 million in New Jersey acquisitions

Following a joint venture announcement in late 2021, leasing global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder Oxford Properties Group (“Oxford”) and leading real estate investment management firm EverWest Real Estate Investors (“EverWest”) have recently closed on US$54 million in industrial acquisitions spanning four properties within high-demand central New Jersey locations. The acquisitions follow the JV’s objective to acquire and develop approximately US$1.0 billion (gross asset value) of infill, light industrial properties, focusing on core-plus, value-add product in major U.S. growth industrial markets.

Aligning with that goal, the New Jersey acquisitions represent a mix of core-plus, redevelopment and development strategies to include:

• Core-Plus: 65 Brunswick Avenue – Edison: 113,079-square-foot warehouse building purchased for US$21.0 million via sale-leaseback with ISC Gums. Features 20 - 24’ clear height, 100’ truck courts, 11 dock-high/drive-in doors and 4,000 amps of power. The site is located minutes from I-287 and Exit 10 of the New Jersey Turnpike, and less than 30 miles from Port Newark and Manhattan.
  
• Redevelopment: 9 Cotters Lane – East Brunswick: 78,000-square-foot vacant Class C warehouse purchased off-market for US$18.0 million. Oxford and EverWest plan to redevelop the 8-acre site into a high-cube modern logistics facility minutes from Exit 9 of the New Jersey Turnpike, Routes 1 and 18, and approximately 30 miles from Port Newark and New York
  
• Development: Cabot Drive & Route 130 – Hamilton: Approximately 73 undeveloped acres purchased off-market for US$15.0 million. Oxford and EverWest plan to develop two state-of-the-art warehouse distribution facilities consisting of approximately 54,000 and 123,000 square feet, respectively. Features will include 36’ clear height with generous loading positions and parking, minutes from I-195 and Exit 7A of the New Jersey Turnpike, within a submarket boasting a sub-1 percent Class A industrial vacancy rate.
  

“These transactions illustrate this partnership’s strategy of acquiring and developing highly functional logistics product in top-performing markets,” said Stephen Feinberg, Director of Northeast Acquisitions for EverWest. “We will continue to selectively target development and acquisition opportunities in these and other key U.S. growth markets and, together with Oxford, will transact efficiently to secure them.”

“Our partnership with EverWest helps us to source both on- and off-market logistics opportunities across markets in the U.S. that benefit from population growth and the increasing need for physical infrastructure that services the digital economy,” said Ankit Bhatt, Vice President of Investments at Oxford Properties. “These transactions signify further sustained, yet highly targeted, growth against one of our highest conviction global investment strategies to buildout an end-to-end U.S. logistics business of scale.”

Since launching the joint venture late in 2021, Oxford and EverWest have secured 15 light industrial assets and development opportunities across greater New Jersey as well as target markets in the Southern, Mountain, Southwest, West Coast and Pacific Northwest regions.

Part of a thematic capital allocation strategy, Oxford has substantially grown its global industrial business over recent years. Last August it acquired a 149-building, 14.5 million-square-foot light industrial portfolio across 12 U.S. markets from KKR for US$2.2 billion. While last September Oxford announced it had completed its acquisition of M7 Real Estate, a market-leading pan European logistics investment and asset manager.

As a result of its sustained growth, logistics now represents the largest allocation of capital within Oxford’s global real estate portfolio. Building on this momentum, Oxford and EverWest will continue to seek strategy-driven, infill light industrial acquisition opportunities across key U.S. growth markets.