Amazon has signed a lease with Lincoln Equities Group for a warehouse in Rutherford, New Jersey.
Lincoln Equities expects to complete the 360,000-square-foot Highland Cross project early next year, the firm said. It will be one of less than 20 warehouse properties in the area with modern 36-foot-plus-clear heights, according to the firm.
Amazon plans to use the property as a last-mile distribution center. The e-commerce giant is in the middle of a nationwide expansion and has scooped up warehousing properties across the tristate area over the last year. Last year the company expanded its fulfillment center footprint by 50 percent.
In recent months, the company has come out with plans to open warehouses at Westhampton’s Francis S. Gabreski Airport, in Melville, and in Syosett on Long Island. The company also leased a 422,000-square-foot distribution center near John F. Kennedy Airport last month.
Amazon’s seemingly insatiable appetite for warehousing space has contributed to a shortage of warehouse space in many parts of North America, including North Jersey, where the vacancy rate is at around 2.7 percent. The U.S. average is 5.5 percent.
Lincoln Equities did not disclose additional terms of the Rutherford lease. The East Rutherford-based firm has a handful of other warehouse projects in the works in the region.
In January, Lincoln Equities sold a 197,000-square-foot warehouse under construction on Long Island for $74.5 million to a subsidiary of insurance giant Travelers.