By Orlando Lee Rodriguez
The site where bookseller Barnes and Noble (NYSE: BKS) distributes merchandise to its more than 700 stores has been sold to CenterPoint Properties for $83 million, according to representatives at Cushman & Wakefield.
The sale of the 1.1 million square foot property, located right off of I95, is the largest sale for a leased property in New Jersey in close to 12 years.
Cushman & Wakefield represented both the buyer and seller.
“This was a unique opportunity that drew solid interest,” said Gary Gabriel of Cushman and Wakefield. “Investors are willing to accept large single-asset/tenant exposure to industrial in New Jersey. While the typical “one-off” industrial sale is in the $8-25 million range, it is far more efficient to take down a single asset of this size to increase allocations.”
Barnes and Noble’s lease on the facility runs through 2020, but the property has enough room to accommodate another building of a little over 100,000 square feet.
“The tenant, invested approximately $100 million into the building,” said Andrew Merin of Cushman & Wakefield. “With its high ceilings, amenities and infrastructure, it is fully configured for e-commerce fulfillment, which is what the world is looking for today.”
A team consisting of Andrew Merin, Gary Gabriel, David Bernhaut and Brian Whitmer of Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group represented the seller, a pension fund advisory firm.
The existing facility, built for Barnes and Noble in 2005, is home of approximately 800 employees.
Shares of Barnes and Noble traded slightly higher on Monday at $14.44 per share. Overall the stock is down more than 4 percent in 2013, down around 0.65 cents a share.
