NAIOP New Jersey Announces Deal of the Year Finalists

March 20, 2012 - PRLog -- The New Jersey Chapter of NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association, has announced the finalists for its highly coveted Deal of the Year Awards. Three winners, one for Economic Impact, one for Creative Office, and one for Creative Industrial, will be revealed at the Twenty-fifth Annual Commercial Real Estate Awards Gala on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at The Palace at Somerset Park. Tickets are now on sale for the industry’s most important networking event of the year. The finalists are:

Economic Impact
•   Panasonic Corporation of North America's new US HQ: Panasonic Corporation of North America signed a milestone lease to move its US Headquarters to a new build-to-suit LEED Gold Certified office building in downtown Newark that will maintain approximately 1,000 jobs in New Jersey, and is estimated to generate a net positive benefit for the state of $222.8 million over the next 11.25 years. Nominees: Hillary Budny, Matrix Development Group and Jeffrey Schotz , SJP Properties. Partners in the deal: Matrix Development Group; SJP Properties; and Newmark Knight Frank.          

•   Kenco Logistic Services/Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) required a distribution facility to service the Northeast. Kenco Logistics Services working with the CBRE team succeeded in finding a new warehouse/distribution center for GMCR's SF specific requirement and created 350 new jobs for NJ with growth to over 500 full and part-time employees.  Nominee: CB Richard Ellis. Partners in the deal: CB Richard Ellis; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters; Kenco Logistics; and Principal Global Investors.

•   Goya Foods Purchase of Jersey City Development Parcel: Goya Foods' purchase of a 40-acre brownfield site in Jersey City - to be transformed into a 631,000-SF sustainable industrial property and secured the company's role as an important long-time member of New Jersey's manufacturing community. This acquisition translates into more than 500 existing local jobs and nearly 82 new positions being maintained and moved into New Jersey. Nominees: Cushman & Wakefield and The Rockefeller Group Development Corporation. Partners in the deal: Cushman & Wakefield; The Rockefeller Development Corp.; Goya Foods; Connell Foley; Sills Cummis & Gross; and Langan Engineering and Environmental Services.

Creative Office
•   US Headquarters Novo Nordisk: Ivy Equities-LCOR secured a 15-year lease with Novo Nordisk for a 730,000 SF office facility. The project created 250 union construction jobs through April 2013, and 500 new permanent jobs. It retains 1000 existing jobs in New Jersey. It is an adaptive reuse strategy by the partnership, committed to a Silver LEED certification. Nominee: Ivy Equities. Partners in the Deal: Ivy Equities; LCOR Inc.; and Intercontinental Real Estate Company.

•   Realogy Corporation US HQ: Realogy Corporation will relocate its U.S. Headquarters to 175 Park Avenue in Madison in a deal that will transform a functionally obsolete office building into a LEED Silver Certified, modern facility that will raise the standard for a Class A office design and maintain 1,300 jobs in New Jersey. Nominee: The Hampshire Companies. Partners in the Deal: The Hampshire Companies, Newmark Knight Frank, Realogy, Drinker Biddle & Reath, NJEDA, Kohn Pederson Fox, Tischman Construction.

Creative Industrial

•   I/O Data Centers: Despite being told that the site was not ideal for a data center, KTR Capital Partners and Jones Lang LaSalle launched a marketing campaign targeting the largest data center users in the country, highlighting the site's power and fiber. I/O Data Centers selected the site to create the world's largest modular data center. Nominee: KTR Capital Partners. Partners in the Deal: KTR Capital Partners; Jones Lang LaSalle; and I/O Data Centers.

•   Wakefern Food Corp. by Elberon Development Corp.: The deal saved 345 jobs in Elizabeth, will create an additional 350 jobs at the site over the next several years, and will provide 140 temporary construction jobs from 2011 through 2013. Reuse of land, relocation of tenant, and then return of tenant to its original location will retain and create jobs in this urban area. A mix of private and public funds and incentives makes the deal economically effective. Nominee: Elberon Development Co., LLC. Partners in the Deal: Elberon Development Co., LLC ; Wakefern Food Corp.; and Langan Engineering and Environmental Services.

The Gala will be honoring the recipients of the 2012 Commercial Real Estate Awards: L. Robert Lieb, Chairman and CEO of Mountain Development Corp., will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Impact Awards will be presented to Andrew J. Merin of Cushman & Wakefield, and T&M Associates. The law firm Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer will receive the Industry Service Award. Seena Stein, of Newmark Knight Frank, will be honored with the Chairman’s Award. The 25th Anniversary Gala is chaired by Gretchen Wilcox of G .S. Wilcox & Co., William Hanson of NAI James E. Hanson, and Clark Machemer of Rockefeller Group Development Corp.

Tickets for NAIOP New Jersey members in good standing are $475. The fee for corporate members is $427.50, and $545 for non-members. For complete details and information on purchasing tickets, placements in the commemorative Gala Journal and sponsorships, please call (732) 729-9900, or visit www.naiopnj.org/25Gala.