Faropoint continues NJ industrial splurge

Faropoint is continuing its foray into North Jersey’s red-hot industrial sector, picking up a last-mile logistics center in the Meadowlands for 35 percent more than it traded for a year ago.

The Israel- and New Jersey-based investment firm acquired a 62,000-square-foot property at 121 Moonachie Avenue, about two miles north of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, for $17.7 million. Digital printing company Content Critical is the building’s sole tenant.

The seller was Valley Stream, New York-based Triangle Services. Property records show a Triangle Services affiliate acquired the building for $11.5 million in December 2020.

The deal comes three months after Faropoint’s acquisition of a 10-building industrial portfolio across Bergen and Morris counties from Kushner Companies for $132.5 million. At the time of the sale, the portfolio — largely made up of last-mile properties — included more than 654,000 square feet and was a combined 98 percent leased.

In a statement, Faropoint’s Orry Michael cited a lack of supply and growing demand for industrial assets in northern New Jersey as reason to believe rents will continue to grow from the all-time highs recorded last year.

Benefits of the Moonachie Avenue property include its proximity to Interstates 80 and 95, easing access throughout the New York metropolitan area.

A Meridian Capital Group including David Schechtman and David Benharouch brokered the deal.

Faropoint said it spent more than $730 million last year on 144 industrial buildings totaling 8.5 million square feet across the country. The firm expects to double that spending this year. It has collectively raised about $700 million in equity capital over the last three years and aims to raise a third fund with $750 million in the coming months. The firm also plans to increase its headcount from 70 employees to 120.

Few industrial real estate markets in the nation are hotter than northern New Jersey’s. Average asking rents for its industrial properties rose by 23 percent in 2021 to $10.85 per square foot, according to Savills Research, and are even higher in submarkets like the Meadowlands.

Net absorption across the region hit 15.8 million square feet for the year, more than double that of the previous year, while the vacancy rate was just 2.3 percent.

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