New Industrial Business Park Filling A Void For Key Manufacturing and Service Sector Businesses

First Property Marketed by CBRE Slated for Delivery July 2025

As we enter 2025 with renewed optimism for a favorable business climate, companies looking for new light industrial space in Northern New Jersey are often confronted with difficult site selection choices. The problem facing most firms in the market for space along the Route 80 / 46 West corridors that straddle the Northeast Morris, West Essex, and Southern Passaic County submarkets is not one muted vacancy, but is rather one of mismatch between tenant preferences and the specifications of spaces for lease or sale. Specifically, the network of manufacturers, service businesses, tradesman, and other light industrial users comprising the majority of small-bay industrial lessees face choices between occupying well-located, but functionally obsolete infill properties in Clifton, Fairfield, and Totowa, or making a regional relocation to Pennsylvania, Central New Jersey, or Orange County New York to secure more
functional but less-favorably located Class A industrial real estate that is inferior for their supply chains.

Underpinning this mismatch between user preferences and available supply are recent post-Covid development trends, which saw owners plan and over-deliver big box warehouses intended to serve Fortune 500 corporations’ logistics needs, while owners of smaller sites and older properties suitable for non-distributors had little incentive to deliver or reposition smaller-format industrial spaces. As a result of this imbalanced investment climate, the area’s small-bay industrial stock has grown fully outdated, with many buildings constructed 40-50 years ago incapable of accommodating the utility and parking needs of today’s tenants. As legacy leases signed between 2015 and 2021 expire, pharmaceutical, high-
tech manufacturing, automotive, and niche logistics industry cluster tenants are finding themselves stuck without viable relocation options. They need modern, functional industrial space, often with heavy power, but do not need buildings designed with the 40’ clear height and trailer parking characteristic of new warehouses – so, for their needs, the market has dramatically under-delivered.

What is the solution to this dilemma many tenants-in-market are facing? Enter the Morris Commerce Center, a state-of-the-art industrial flex campus tailored to meet the needs of today’s small-and mid-bay users. Strategically positioned at 331 Route 202 in Montville, NJ, this new commerce park features 110,000 sq. ft. of adaptable light industrial space, filling a void in the Northern New Jersey market. The 3-building project offers the following footprints: Building A, at 22,500 sq.ft. delivers September 2025; Building B, a +/-56,000 sq.ft. corporate flagship space, delivers July/August 2025; and Building C, a +/- 31,000 sq.ft. Build-to-suit opportunity to deliver later in 2025. This project offers the I-287 North Corridor as a viable alternative to the traditional Route 80/46 submarket supply and as the Morris County submarket emerges as a competitor to these infill areas, where a tenant might find aged infrastructure, rampant traffic congestion, and high operating costs, for an equivalent or lower rent a Morris Commerce Center tenant can secure modern, high-power industrial space with equivalent connectivity but without compromising on their desired specifications.

What sets the Morris Commerce Center apart?

• Strategic Location with Heavy Power – Situated adjacent to a JCP&L substation and offering direct
  access to I-287, the project provides essential infrastructure while ensuring seamless logistics reach,
  lying only 5 miles from Parsippany.
• Small-Bay Industrial with Customizable Design – Designed for users needing 50,000 sq. ft. or less,
  the Center fills a critical market gap by delivering flexible, demisable space, that can be tailored for
  office, showroom, lab, or production areas unlike larger warehouses never intended for divisibility.
• Ample Parking & Workforce Access – With an additional 88 vehicle spaces onsite offering abundant
  parking and an NJ Transit bus stop at its entrance, the Center provides ease of employee access and
  an abundant fleet vehicle parking opportunity for trade business operations.

Together with our interchange location, these attributes promise image-oriented firms the opportunity for a better site selection decision that enhances talent attraction and cements operational efficiency. Leasing interest in the Morris Commerce Center is already strong, with significant interest in our corporate flagship Building B slated for delivery late summer. According to Stephen D’Amato of CBRE, who is heading the leasing campaign, a variety of operations have shown interest due to the project’s heavy power and floor plans ideal for the flow of operations with a mix of office, R&D, light production, storage needs.

“We are thrilled to be representing this unique industrial park that caters to overlooked users seeking mission-critical small-bay space,” said D’Amato. “We have already received significant interest from pharmaceuticals firms for Building B, due to its abundant power, intelligent flow-through design, and excess parking. Building A is receiving attention from car manufacturers that are in the market for R&D facilities.”

Article courtesy of Diversified Properties and CBRE.