Morristown, NJ– Avison Young’s New Jersey office announced today that it has arranged over 162,500 square feet (sf) in new office, industrial/flex and life sciences leases across private real estate holding company Shelbourne Global’s 631,784-sf commercial portfolio in Piscataway and Bloomfield, NJ. With New Jersey’s limited amount of class A office and industrial/flex inventory and surging demand for the latter, there has been a notable wave of owners repositioning their assets accelerated by the heavily-adopted remote work options brought on by the pandemic. However, Shelbourne has sustained steady leasing momentum throughout its core office portfolio while going against the trend, as indicated by this latest influx of transactions. 

“Although industrial has been a key driver of activity, there has also been a strong appetite from pharmaceutical manufacturing companies for premier lab, biotech and research space. We’re also seeing encouraging signs of recovery in the office sector with this recent flurry of new leases and recommitments as companies strategize return-to-work efforts,” added Ariel Brenner, Vice President of Leasing at Shelbourne. “Avison Young has been an incredible partner throughout the pandemic as evident by their continued success for our New Jersey commercial portfolio.”

Leading biotech company Genscript inked a new 56,843-sf lease at Shelbourne’s 20 Kingsbridge Road in Piscataway, NJ for new office, research and lab space while energy technology company Lummus Technology, Inc. and full-service marketing company Acosta, Inc. signed long-term office leases at 1515 Broad Street in Bloomfield, NJ for 115,707 sf in total. Avison Young’s New Jersey-based Principal William McCaffrey represented Shelbourne in all three transactions as the exclusive leasing agent.

“Shelbourne has continued to lease their office portfolio while bucking the trend of owners in New Jersey repurposing their commercial assets as their Piscataway and Bloomfield properties continue to experience new interest, renewals and lease extensions even in midst of the pandemic,” said McCaffrey. “Piscataway in particular has been an appealing market for leading and mid-market pharmaceutical and biotech companies, with Shelbourne’s 140 Centennial Avenue positioned to accommodate a diverse range of high-tech uses.”

Shelbourne’s Piscataway, NJ portfolio comprises 230,456 sf of industrial, office and lab space across 20 Kingsbridge Road, 80 Kingsbridge Road, 140 Centennial Avenue and 275 Centennial Avenue. The firm also owns 1515 Broad Street in Bloomfield, NJ, a class A office and flex property.