Marking its third new-build in 12 months, RealCold is expanding its national network by entering the Northeast in East Hanover.

According to the cold storage and cold chain logistics operator, the 380,000-square-foot New Jersey location will service grocers, the food service industry and others in the tri-state area.

Related Fund Management – affiliated with real estate development and operator Related Cos. – sponsors RealCold. Capital for the project comes from RFM as well as its partners, Onyx Equities LLC and Russo Development, which acquired the 62-acre site in 2021 from Novartis.

The New Jersey facility will offer cold chain needs including for frozen and refrigerated goods traveling in and out of the New York/New Jersey ports. According to RealCold, it will also help boost its direct-to-consumer offering. According to the company, it can reach 60 million people next-day and 100 million people on two-day parcel service from the Morris County location.

Based in Lakeland, Fla., RealCold currently has five existing facilities in operation across that many states: Oregon, Utah, California, Texas and Florida. New builds are also underway in Lakeland, Fla., and Lockhart, Texas, representing a cumulative nearly 700,000 square feet.

Overall, RealCold has 1.6 million square feet of space under development in the refrigerated warehouse sector.

In demand space

“Prior to East Hanover, RealCold already had a robust and far-reaching network, but expanding to the Northeast was always part of our roadmap,” commented RealCold CEO Keith Goldsmith on the New Jersey location. “The completion of this transaction marks a significant milestone in our strategy of entering high consumption markets, and more importantly fulfills a need voiced by our current and potential customers.”

“Additionally, this facility will provide a critical hub for omnichannel fulfillment as it increases RealCold’s reach, allowing us to get our customers’ products in the hands of 97% of U.S. consumers in two days or less as part of our powerful DTC program,” Goldsmith added.

While much available space in this sector has aged past its prime, a May report from Colliers points out that vacancy rates continue to fall.

In the first half of 2024, the global commercial real estate services firm put the figure at 3.4%. That’s caused a shift toward speculative development – that hitherto has not been seen – as well as build-to-suit opportunities.

RealCold’s New Jersey space falls in line with the conveniences these operators look for: proximity to ports, support for food manufacturers and access to population centers.

Coming soon

In East Hanover, RealCold will build a new Class A, LEED Silver convertible development. Dubbed High Point on 10, the project features:

• 50-foot clear heights
• Environmentally controlled rooms ranging from negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit to 55 degrees Fahrenheit
• 40 dock doors
• Dedicated areas for value-add services

Completion is set for late 2025. RealCold expects operations to commence in Morris County in early 2026.

Beyond its own space, RFM, Onyx and Russo will also deliver 200,000 square feet of Class A ambient space available for either third-party lease or RealCold customers, the company said. Instead of refrigerating, ambient storage keeps items at room temperature or within a controlled temperature range.

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