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Industrial Realty Secures 400 Acres at Atlantic City Airport for Logistics Development

Los Angeles Firm Strikes Deal for Sizable Parcel in Northwest Corner of Aviation Hub

Industrial Realty Group has secured a ground lease for roughly 400 acres at the Atlantic City International Airport where it plans to build a mixed-use logistics project in the southern part of the Garden State.


Based in Los Angeles and billing itself as one of the largest industrial real estate developers in the nation, Industrial Realty said it reached an agreement with the South Jersey Transportation Authority to lease the large parcel on the northwest corner of the airport, which is located in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. As part of the deal, Industrial Realty and the authority have agreed to work cooperatively on the new construction, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.


Industrial Realty is "planning to build a mixed-use, industrial development to potentially include air cargo, rail and over-the-road (tri-modal)," a company spokeswoman said in an email to CoStar News on Wednesday. Renderings of the development weren't available.


“IRG has a wealth of experience in the aviation segment of commercial development,” Stuart Lichter, the developer's president, said in a statement. “We have already discussed site opportunities with many job-creating tenants. We believe this momentum will continue to grow because of the property’s location and airport proximity.”


For several years now New Jersey has been a hotbed for warehouse development because of its central location within a highly populated area, situated between New York and Philadelphia, and its proximity to major airports and seaports. Meanwhile, the Atlantic City airport has been in the local news recently because of a controversial proposal by the Biden administration to use the site as a place to house immigrants.


Industrial Realty said it has also been working with the Atlantic County Economic Alliance on the agreement, and added that the project "could stimulate tens of millions of dollars in new private investment in the region."


In July last year, the South Jersey Transportation Authority authorized its executive director, Stephen Dougherty, to enter negotiations and execute an agreement for the development of the northwest quadrant of the airport. The lease is the culmination of efforts stemming from that authorization.


“We could not have found a better partner to make this project a reality,” Dougherty said in a statement.


The proposed industrial development could also help Atlantic County move toward its goal of diversifying and strengthening the economy in the region, moving beyond gambling and tourism, according to local officials. Industrial development has been a key component of regional master planning and the Atlantic City airport for a decade, officials said.


“This agreement is conducive with our efforts to explore the development of an air-cargo-maintenance-and-repair facility that could result in hundreds of short-termconstruction jobs and many more long-term jobs,” Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said in a statement.


Industrial Realty's forte is the conversion and privatization of federal properties. The company owns and serves as the master developer of three closed military bases, a former NASA manufacturing facility and a closed Veterans Affairs site.

Nov 4, 2023

By:

Linda Moss

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