Amazon takes 568K sf at Innovo, Square Mile’s Bronx industrial complex

E-commerce giant to occupy roughly half of two-story logistics center

From left: Amazon’s Andy Jassy and Innovo’s Andrew Chung along with a rendering of 2505 Bruckner Boulevard (Getty, Amazon, Innovo)
From left: Amazon’s Andy Jassy and Innovo’s Andrew Chung along with a rendering of 2505 Bruckner Boulevard (Getty, Amazon, Innovo)

Every day is Prime Day now at Andrew Chung’s Innovo Property Group and Square Mile Capital’s massive Bronx logistics center.

Amazon signed a lease for 568,500 square feet at Innovo and Square Mile’s massive industrial complex at 2505 Bruckner Boulevard, a company spokesperson told The Real Deal. The tech giant will occupy the first floor of the two-story, 1.07 million-square-foot property that was completed this year.

The length of the lease and price per square foot were not disclosed.

The agreement accounted for the largest industrial lease in New York City this year, according to JLL. A JLL team including Rob Kossar and Leslie Lanne brokered the transaction.

The JLL team and Innovo did not respond to a request for comment. Square Mile declined to comment.

Innovo and Square Mile’s new industrial development sits on a 20-acre site once home to the Whitestone Multiplex Cinemas and nestled in between the Westchester Creek and Bruckner interchange. About 499,000 square feet on the property’s second floor remains available to lease.

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Innovo bought the site in 2017 from Extell Development for $75 million as part of a play to acquire and develop last-mile warehouses in the outer boroughs. The firm’s prescient push into warehouses in recent years made Chung the face of New York City’s industrial market.

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Companies like Amazon have expanded their e-commerce operations in the wake of the pandemic, buying and leasing more industrial space to keep up with the rise of online shopping. The recent trend has turned the industrial market red-hot in the New York Metropolitan Area, which remains one of the tightest and most expensive regions for warehouse space in the country.

Amazon’s newest lease comes as the company has sought to trim its industrial portfolio this year in an effort to cut costs. Company executives said earlier this year the company would cut back its warehouse pipeline and revealed that excess space had created $2 billion in additional expenses.

Amazon has also sought to sublet 10 to 30 million square feet of warehouse and end some of its leases with landlords in order to shed space in markets like New York and New Jersey. The company also unveiled plans to close, delay or cancel its occupancy in about 80 warehouses across the country.

Amazon has shifted its focus in recent years from leasing to buying real estate in order to avoid paying higher rents and annual rates hikes. The company’s real estate portfolio doubled last year to 16.7 million square feet.