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RealCold broke ground this week on a 380,000-square-foot temperature-controlled facility in East Hanover, its first in the Northeast.

The cold chain services operator and provider expects to open the site in the first quarter of 2026. Less than 30 minutes from the Port of Newark, the property is located along Route 10.

Related Fund Management – affiliated with real estate development and operator Related Cos. – sponsors RealCold. Project partners also include Onyx Equities LLC and Russo Development.

The local partners acquired the 62-acre site from Novartis in 2021. The transaction and pursuant work eliminated 900,000 square feet of unused office space to make way for new industrial properties. In their remarks at a Nov. 14 groundbreaking ceremony, representatives from Russo Development and Onyx underscored the significance of that transformation.

“A complex redevelopment such as this one – where a portion of an active property is transitioned – requires an enormous amount of collaboration,” Russo Development President Ed Russo said. “In this case, we and our partners at Onyx and RFM were fortunate to work with a great team at Novartis and the Township of East Hanover, blending a set of interests that became a common mission.”

Onyx Equities founding partner John Saraceno said, “This is a perfect example of repurposing a former office use – in this case with an esteemed legacy – to the standards and market receptiveness of new industrial uses and the result is a promising new life through RealCold, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

Real cool

RealCold CEO Keith Goldsmith lauded the groundbreaking as a win for the region, as well as existing and future customers.

“We are thrilled to kick off this project in East Hanover which is in no small part due to our various partners whose collaboration led us to this premier site in northern New Jersey,” Goldsmith commented. “Our collective research, input from customers, and demand from the market, has reinforced that this is the most strategic location to bring significant cold storage on-line. We believe it will be a game-changer for importers/exporters, grocers, food manufacturers, and online retailers with operations in the region.”

According to RealCold, the development will allow the company to reach tens of millions of consumers more quickly. It said that would the boost to its direct-to-consumer platform would contribute to an overall nationwide reach of 97% of U.S consumers in two days or less.

“We are proud of the vision we have for this site—a modern facility that has been engineered with exacting standards and optimized to service the demands of the food industry for years to come,” said Michael Winston, managing director at RFM and sponsor of RealCold.

High class

With leasing activity in the sector hitting a new post-pandemic high of 7.3 million square feet in the third quarter, according to CBRE, demand for Class A space lead the push.

The firm highlighted RealCold’s lease at 45 Route 10 in East Hanover in its third quarter industrial recap. According to that report, 78% of Q3’s top 20 new leases were for Class A space.

Upon completion, the Class A site in East Hanover will offer:

• Five fully convertible rooms with temperatures from -20°F to +55°F.
• More than 40 dock doors to accommodate high throughput volumes
• 70-foot refrigerated dock
• 50-foot clearance
• Ample, secured trailer parking.
• LEED Silver certification
• Dedicated areas for DTC activities and value-added services

Beyond RealCold’s presence at the property, the project will also deliver 220,000 square feet of Class A, 40-foot clear, dry industrial space. Currently available for lease, CBRE Vice Chairman Kevin Dudley and Executive Vice President Chad Hillyer handle the marketing.