Bussel Realty Corp. arranged the sale of a 40,000-square-foot industrial property in Middlesex County, the firm announced Sept. 20.

Edison-based BRC represented both the buyer and seller – Sitex Group and Total Source Logistics, respectively – in the $19.7 million transaction for 160 Essex Ave. E. in Avenel.

“160 Essex Ave. E. offers 40,000 square feet of warehouse space with heavy loading and over 2.5 acres of excess land for parking,” BRC Senior Vice President Jordan Metz, who worked the deal on behalf of both parties, said in a statement.

He also arranged a short-term leaseback for Total Source Logistics, representing both parties again, which operates a trucking and logistics business at the property. “The buyer, Sitex Group, has been an aggressive buyer of industrial real estate for many years and will add this core property to its substantial real estate holdings portfolio,” Metz said.

Based in Englewood, just last week Sitex unloaded a five-building industrial portfolio in Essex County.

The Avenel site is located near the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 1-9, offering access to Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Newark/Elizabeth. It offers 18-foot ceiling heights, seven tailboards and one drive-in door, dry sprinklers, 600 amps of electric power and 50 surface parking spaces.

Metz remarked on the growth in the Carteret/Avenel submarket, which he said has seen significant increases in rent, “rising valuations and insatiable investor interest over the last five years.” In its Second Quarter 2022 Industrial report, NAI James E. Hanson pegged the vacancy rate for Middlesex County at 0.9%. Of particular interest in the area, Metz said, are functional properties with land for parking or outdoor storage.