MOUNT OLIVE, NJ-CBRE Group sold a a 12-acre parcel of vacant land at the International Trade Center here for $2.35 million to an Italian food company - and the company is already at work on construction of a 180,000-square-foot food processing facility.
Stephen Sander, who along with Thomas Mallaney, represented Exeter Properties in selling the parcel, said he thinks the transaction is "significant" in the state and regional market. "We're especially excited about the deal because we have not seen a major land development sale of industrial property in Morris County in quite some time," Sander said.
The International Trade Center is the former site of BASF's headquarters. BASF left Mount Olive in 2004 and its North American headquarters are now in Florham Park.
Exeter acquired the International Trade Center portfolio last year for $59 million in a deal arranged by CBRE. The industrial part of the Mount Olive complex includes eight buildings, two development sites in addition to the one sold to Fratelli Beretta USA, and 1.2 million square feet of light industrial and high-end space.
The property was developed in the 1980s by the Rockefeller Group. About 30 multinational and domestic corporations have headquarters, offices or distribution facilities there.
Sander noted that the township of Mount Olive, as well as the Morris County Economic Development Corporation, assisted in accomplishing the recent property trade. Also, Sander said, "The transaction involved ample collaboration between professionals from the United States and Italy."
The buyer is a family-owned meat processing corporation and producer of Italian food.
The International Trade Center is situated along Interstate 80 and Route 46 and has two miles of highway frontage. The complex is located 40 miles west of New York City.