Things are looking up on the industrial real estate front in the New York City area.
The reason for that came in an announcement issued earlier this week, stating that Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate (GSAM PRE) and DH Property Holdings (DHPH) have formed a joint venture to develop a three-story, 370,000 square-foot, institutional grade warehouse and distribution center at 640 Columbia Street in Brooklyn, New York on the Red Hook waterfront.
GSAM PRE and DHPH said that one of the most notable aspects about this endeavor is that this facility will be one of the first North America-based industrial buildings to have multi-level distribution and warehousing, as well as focus on what they called a growing demand for modern logistics space in key locations like New York City, where the majority of existing industrial locations are functionally obsolete and land is in short supply.
A key driver for this building stems from the ongoing proliferation of e-commerce activity, coupled with the increasing amount of final, or last, mile activity, which they said is a key aspect of e-commerce supply chain, as well as being in close proximity to a large customer base that can cut down on transportation costs and augment order fulfillment time.
“Both GSAM PRE and DHPH believe there is tenant demand for modern, infill logistics facilities in urban locations and we have been seeking new opportunities to meet that demand, particularly in areas such as NYC where there is limited existing supply of functional product,” said Joe Gorin, co-head of GSAM PRE, in an interview. “When 640 Columbia came to market, GSAM PRE and DHPH recognized the opportunity to provide e-commerce and distribution tenants with a product that doesn’t currently exist in the market and serves a growing need for same-day access to the end user.”
640 Columbia will provide users with a high-quality logistics facility located proximate to the more than 8.5 million people living in NYC, noted Gorin, adding that this development will feature Class A industrial specs including 130’ truck courts, 33 loading doors and 28’ clear heights.
GSAM PRE and DHPH have engaged Hollister Construction and Ware Malcomb and are working with the team to complete the design and permitting process in advance of commencing construction. GSAM PRE has invested in 2.6 million square-feet of industrial assets throughout the United States over the last 18 months.
“New York City has the highest population and greatest density of any city in the US, but has a severely undersupplied warehouse market,” said Dov Hertz, Founder of DH Property Holdings, in a statement. “640 Columbia will offer tenants a product that does not currently exist in the market and the location provides companies with immediate access to their end consumers.”