Thor Equities to bring speculative warehouse/distro center to Bogota

Thor Equities Group is planning to bring a new 150,917-square-foot Class A, speculative warehouse and distribution facility to Bergen County.

That’s according to JLL Capital Markets, which announced April 26 that it arranged pre-development and construction financing for the Bogota project. JLL worked on behalf of Thor Equities, the borrower, to place the floating-rate loan with Centennial Bank. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The infill New York City-area site feeds the need for Class A space in the sector, as New Jersey’s industrial market continues to experience all-time highs when it comes to demand. According to Colliers’ Q1 2022 New Jersey | Industrial Market Snapshot, the state’s overall availability rate is 2.9%. Meanwhile, leasing activity is up — by 48.2%, according to the report — quarter over quarter.

And according to CBRE, developers like Thor Equities are working to capture that interest, with 15.4 million square feet of new industrial product under construction during the first quarter of 2022. The 16% uptick quarter-over-quarter — and 39% increase year-over-year -— marks the second highest amount of square feet under development on record, according to the first quarter industrial figures from CBRE. The highest, recorded in the second quarter of 2020, was just 12,000 square feet more.

Situated on 10.8 acres in Bogota, upon completion JLL said the Thor Equities project will offer 40-foot clear heights, 28 dock and three drive-in doors, low office finish, ESFR fire protection, 15 trailer parking stalls and 225 parking spaces.

“Thor’s latest acquisition reflects our ability to identify strategically located assets in supply constrained markets,” said Thor Equities Group Chairman Joseph Sitt. “Our new development will allow users efficient access to the most populous region in the United States, and we expect strong leasing activity as the demand for e-commerce continues to accelerate.”

For the first quarter of 2022, JLL Research’s New Jersey Industrial Insight report found the vacancy rate for the Meadowlands submarket stands at just 1.3%. With about 766,000 square feet under construction, JLL finds rental rates there — at $16.26 per square foot — are among the highest in the state.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Placement team representing the borrower was led by Senior Director David Sitt, Managing Director Peter Rotchford, Senior Director Matthew Pizzolato and Vice President Michael Lachs.

“We continue to see tremendous interest form the lending community for well-located, institutional-quality industrial projects,” Pizzolato said in a statement. “Centennial Bank recognized this and stepped up to offer attractive terms and a structure that will allow our client to execute their business plan.”

In February, JLL secured financing for Thor’s acquisition of a 131,000-square-foot, single-tenant industrial warehouse and distribution facility in Newark.