350,000-SF Industrial Complex Trades for $8M
By Eric Peterson

NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ-Seagis Property Group has acquired a 350,000-sf industrial complex here for $7.8 million, a number that translates into a little more than $22 per sf. Located on a site of more than 30 acres adjacent to the Technology Centre of New Jersey, the complex includes more than 250,000 sf of warehouse and distribution space, 70,000 sf of conditioned assembly and manufacturing space, and 30,000 sf of one- and two-story office space.

The seller was the locally based Permacel Inc., a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Nitto Denko. Permacel, a manufacturer of specialty tapes, had formerly used the complex for the manufacture and distribution of several product lines. However, the facility became surplus in 2004 when Permacel sold a couple of its divisions to the Hickory, NC-based Shurtape Technologies Inc.

And the new owner, a West Conshohocken, PA-based owner and operator of logistically driven industrial buildings along the Eastern seaboard, has a makeover in store for its newest asset. According to Seagis principal John Begier, his company will launch a major renovation that will include everything from an interior demolition and upgraded facades, to base building improvements.

Begier co-founded Seagis with fellow principal and fellow former Keystone Property Trust exec Charles Lee after that company was acquired by ProLogis. Seagis launched early this year with the financial backing of a $250-million equity investment by Principal Enterprise Capital, and has since acquired several industrial properties from New Jersey to Florida.

The renovation, meanwhile, will configure the complex for everything from warehouse and manufacturing tenants of between 25,000 and 320,000 sf and office users up to 30,000 sf. Seagis, which expects to have the place ready for occupancy by the spring of 2006, has hired Frank Caccavo and Jason Goldman of Cushman & Wakefield of NJ’s Iselin office to fill the building with tenants.

Regarding the acquisition, “we were able to move very quickly,” Begier says. “It was a complex transaction to create value for our company, while meeting the seller’s needs.”

“We’ve been encouraged by the strong initial interest,” says Dave Gibbons, Seagis’ senior vice president, who joined the company earlier this year from Elberon Development. “The interest is coming from a broad range of prospective tenants, and we expect to deliver this renovated product to the market early next year.”