Mapletree Planning 950K SF Logistics Center in New Jersey

Singapore’s Mapletree Investments remains one of the biggest movers and shakers in the industrial real estate space.

The investment and development firm acquired a 97-acre development site in Manalapan, New Jersey for roughly $100 million, the Commercial Observer reported. The seller of the site at 370 Smithburg Road was not disclosed.

JLL’s Paul Torosian and Larry Maister represented the seller.

Before details of the transaction were revealed, Mapletree announced plans to develop a 953,000-square-foot logistics facility on the site. There will be two warehouses and accommodations for 366 car parking spaces, 141 trailer spaces and 172 dock doors.

Construction is expected to be wrapped by the first quarter of 2028.

Mapletree already owns or manages more than 66 million square feet of industrial space in the United States, including 1.5 million square feet in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company’s been selling assets over the last year.

The investor and developer has sold nearly $1.3 billion worth of U.S. warehouse properties since June. The sale of a 1.4 million-square-foot portfolio to Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial earlier in the spring marked its fifth divestment in that period; Dalfen paid $207.5 million, or $150 per square foot, for the 19-property portfolio.

In 2019, Mapletree, which also owns mixed-use and office properties, made a push in the U.S. and European logistics sector with a $1.8 billion fund.

Last year, Mapletree and CapitaLand Investment were purportedly considering merging into a single firm, which would create one of the top Asia-Pacific property companies with more than $150 billion in assets under its purview. It’s unclear if any progress has been made in those talks.

Elsewhere in New Jersey, global logistics firm Maersk recently signed a lease for 233,000 square feet of industrial space at 200 Linden Logistics Way in Linden, bringing the Linden Logistics Center — sponsored by PGIM Real Estate, Advance Realty Investors and Greek Real Estate Partners — to 91 percent leased.

— Holden Walter-Warner