– CORPORATE AMERICA REALTY & ADVISORS
Home improvement and building retailer Lowe’s Home Centers leased an under-construction Class A industrial facility coming to Hamilton.
In a Jan. 19 announcement, Rutherford-based Corporate America Realty & Advisors said Lowe’s signed a long-term lease for 58 Thomas J Rhodes Industrial Drive, also known as Hub#2, a 102,575-square-foot building situated on 7.5 acres.
CARA President Howard Applebaum exclusively represented the property’s developer – 58 Thomas J Rhodes Industrial Drive LLC – in the transaction. According to CARA, JLL Executive Vice President Nate Demetsky served as co-broker for the tenant.
ARCO Design/Build Inc. is serving as construction contractor.
CARA did not immediately return a request for information as to when the property is likely to be delivered.
In November 2022, CARA and Applebaum secured a tenant for another new industrial building in Hamilton from the developer — the approximately 115,000-square-foot Hub#1. Taking place over the past two years, Applebaum also represented 58 Thomas J Rhodes Industrial Drive LLC in its acquisitions of the sites for both Hub buildings.
According to CARA, ARCO was also the general contractor for the nearby Hub#1 project, located at 17 Thomas J Rhodes Industrial Drive.
Fortune 50 company Lowe’s has more than 2,200 stores in the U.S. and Canada, which the desirable location of the Hamilton distribution and logistics space at Hub#2 will provide access to.
– CORPORATE AMERICA REALTY & ADVISORS
According to NAI James E. Hanson’s Fourth Quarter Industrial Report, Mercer County posted the lowest average asking rents among counties in the state for the sector during Q4, with an average $9.73 per square foot. However, new additions are driving that number up.
The Exit 7A submarket, which encompasses the county, saw rents rise over $10 per square foot for the first time, which the report attributes to the addition of two new properties in Hamilton and Millstone that were also identified as among the top 10 construction projects for the quarter. Last year, 2.4 million square feet of new product was delivered in the submarket, with 1.8 million square feet expected over the next several quarters, as development spreads throughout the state to accommodate the need for space.
Overall, leasing was up in the submarket by 224,610 square feet, according to the report.
Hub#2 features 36-foot clear ceilings, 54-foot by 51-foot bay sizes, a 60-foot speed bay and 30 tailboard loading docks and drive-ins.
According to CARA, Lowe’s joins a mix of other recognizable tenants nearby – bolstering Mercer County’s status as a logistics hub – including FedEx Ground Air, New Penn Trucking, Yellow Corp. and XPO Logistics.
