EverWest/Woodmont JV Acquires New Jersey Office Property for $42.7 Million

SOMERSET, NJ (September 15, 2021) – Underscoring the demand for prime infill industrial sites, EverWest Real Estate Investors, in joint venture with Woodmont Properties, has purchased a 351,782-square-foot office building and adjacent land site in Somerset, New Jersey. The partnership plans to vacate and demolish the existing improvements for the development of two state-of-the-art, Class A warehouse/distribution buildings totaling over 426,000 square feet.

The redevelopment site totals approximately 31 contiguous acres at 400 and 600 Atrium Drive. It includes an existing, 351,782-square-foot office building and adjacent 7-acre undeveloped parcel.

Upon demolition of the office building, EverWest and Woodmont plan to build two Class A warehouse/distribution facilities totaling 294,000 square feet and 132,000 square feet, respectively. The buildings will be designed to accommodate a large single user or can be easily divided for multiple tenancy.

“Somerset is one of the fastest-growing industrial submarkets in the New Jersey market, with limited existing availability, modest new speculative construction and a growing list of major users and investors turning their interest toward the area,” said EverWest’s Director of Northeast Acquisitions, Stephen Feinberg. “This project will make the most of those fundamentals, capitalizing on a location that provides immediate access to I-287 while leveraging the area’s excellent labor pool.”

According to CoStar, industrial rents in Somerset have skyrocketed from below $4 per-square-foot in 2013 to almost $12 per-square-foot today. Current submarket industrial vacancy sits at approximately 4 percent.

Feinberg directed the transaction on behalf of EverWest, in collaboration with Anthony Amadeo of Woodmont and with representation by Elli Klapper, Kevin Dudley and Mark Silverman of CBRE. The acquisition marks the third transaction in New Jersey between EverWest and Woodmont within the last nine months.

“Like most states, New Jersey is experiencing an office vacancy problem, with many employees working from home,” said Klapper. “Working with local municipalities in the state who are rezoning their towns allows owners to transition these vacant office buildings to warehouses, which is indirectly helping both the office and industrial sectors. As clients are reducing their office footprints, owners are able to take this product off the market and demolish the buildings for industrial investors. This trend just speaks to how strong the demand is for industrial product in the region.”  

The Atrium Drive site is less than one mile from the I-287 Exit 10 interchange, with excellent connectivity to the New Jersey Turnpike. Its existing office building is anticipated to be vacant by first quarter 2022. The new industrial product is targeted for delivery in 2023.

“This investment offers a rare re-development opportunity of an underutilized office building in a strong submarket in New Jersey that lacks developable land. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with EverWest on this transaction and look forward to our continued growth together,” said Amadeo.

About EverWest Real Estate Investors LLC

EverWest Real Estate Investors LLC is a real estate investment advisor providing investment management services throughout the U.S. including acquisitions, asset management, development and property management for our investors. EverWest has $3.6 billion in assets under management as of second quarter 2021. The firm’s clients invest through separately managed accounts and commingled funds. EverWest is headquartered in Denver with regional investment offices in New York City, Charlotte, Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas. EverWest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based GWL Realty Advisors. For more information, visit www.everwest.com or www.gwlra.com.

About Woodmont Properties

Founded in 1963, Woodmont Properties is a second-generation family-owned real estate development company based in Fairfield, New Jersey. As a multi-disciplined and vertically integrated firm with 185 employees, Woodmont Properties is one of New Jersey’s most active developers with commercial developments/acquisitions in excess of 5 million square feet completed in the past 5 years and over 3,000 rental housing units in its current portfolio. For more, visit www.woodmontproperties.com.