1719 Oak St. in Lakewood

re-nj.com By Joshua Burd

Sudler Cos. has leased up four new speculative industrial buildings in Lakewood, securing 225,600 square feet in commitments as it prepares to break ground on the final property.

The developer on Wednesday detailed the transactions, the largest of which is a 74,400-square-foot lease at 1719 Oak St. by a light manufacturing user. Meantime, an e-commerce distribution business known as Fulfillrite has leased nearly 40,000 square feet at 825 Towbin Ave., doubling its capacity.

The third and fourth properties were leased to a pharmaceutical business and longtime Sudler tenant, which will soon occupy a modern 31,200-square-foot lab and logistics facility at 1220 Paco Way and a built-to-suit, 80,000-square-foot building at 1215 Paco Way, the developer said. The latter is slated to break ground this month.

With the transactions, Sudler’s Corporate Park Lakewood is 100 percent leased.

“We have responded to the unprecedented demand for well-located industrial real estate by ramping up our development, construction and leasing activities despite the complications of COVID-19,” said Peter D. Sudler, chairman and CEO of the Chatham-based firm. “As demand is increasing, we are capitalizing on opportunities to update and expand our positions on those sites – and with our large land bank we are able to respond rapidly to growth requirements.”

Located on Route 70 with direct interchange access to the Garden State Parkway for employees — and to Route 9 for commercial traffic — Corporate Park Lakewood has been a staple of Sudler’s New Jersey portfolio for more than 45 years, the firm said. The firm touted the site’s accessibility from the New York, Philadelphia and Atlantic City markets, noting that it has focused on Lakewood because it is specifically geared toward commercial and industrial users such as e-commerce, pharma and warehouse operations businesses.

It is the second largest industrial park in the state, with Sudler serving as the largest property owner with 35 buildings in the complex.

“We have confidence in the market, so we are eager to build out sites in advance,” said Brian Sudler, a principal with the firm. “Users typically don’t want to wait for the two to three years it takes to develop a new location, so having ready-to-build sites is enormously beneficial. Often, as in Lakewood, our existing tenants are the first to respond when we can help upgrade or expand their businesses because of our long history with them.”

Michael Shipper of The Blau and Berg Co. was the broker for the 1719 Oak St. transaction, while Mike Maroon of the Acclaim Group arranged the 1220 and 1215 Paco Way leases.

“Sudler has enjoyed strong relationships with the brokerage community and was pleased to work with our consistent brokerage partners on these transactions,” said Jeffrey Hale, the firm’s director of leasing.