At former Marcal site, logistics development starts vertical construction

Four years after a fire tore through Marcal Paper’s former factory in Elmwood Park, vertical construction is underway on the industrial development that will rise in its place.

Crow Holdings Development recently announced it started that work on its new, 206,826-square-foot logistics hub at the 1 Market St. location, which it acquired last year in a joint venture with Atlas Holdings, Marcal‘s majority shareholder.

Texas-based Crow Holdings expects to generate $34 million in economic activity at the site along with 140 short-term jobs during the construction process.

With a scheduled delivery date of September 2023, the project is expected to support the equivalent of 240 full-time jobs, according to Crow, and produce $630,000 in property tax payments to Bergen County, the municipality and the local school district.

“We are thrilled to begin construction of this state-of-the-art new facility that will transform the former Marcal site into one of the region’s most advanced logistics offerings,” said Clark Machemer, Crow Holdings Development’s senior managing director for the Northeast region, in a statement. “1 Market St. will not only create jobs and contribute to the growth of the county’s economy, but it will also provide much-needed logistics space in one of the country’s most land-constrained markets, delivering a bright new future for the town and this historic site.”

With a design that reflects the iconic architecture of its former occupant and located 17 miles from Manhattan, the nearly 12-acre property offers immediate access to Interstates 80 and 95. According to Crow, the speculative development will feature:

• 40-foot clear ceiling heights
• 32 loading docks
• Two drive-in doors
• Parking for 56 trailers and 198 cars, and
• 7-inch-thick concrete floors designed to accommodate heavy goods and machinery

JLL handled the sale of the Marcal property – where the company reopened with a smaller plant in 2020 – and serves as exclusive agent for the site. Vice Chairman David Knee, Executive Managing Director Chris Hile, Senior Vice President Ignatius Armenia and Vice President Ryan Milanaik are marketing the property among e-commerce and logistics occupiers increasingly under pressure to move goods competitively and quickly, according to the firm.

In its first quarter insights in the industrial sector for 2023, JLL reported that despite record construction activity and moderation in preleasing, vacancy rates are still constrained.

The catalyst behind that demand was new logistics space, like Crow’s project in Elmwood Park. According to JLL, in Q1 that kind of Class A product accounted for more than half of leasing activity.

“Despite macro-economic headwinds, the New Jersey industrial market remains resilient as 3PL’s, food and beverage, and consumer goods companies seek well-located, modern facilities in close proximity to the world’s major population hubs,” Knee said. “1 Market St. will reinvent a historic factory into an economic engine of the 21st century, generating jobs, contributing to the local tax base and meeting market demand for effective logistics solutions.”