Staples, Inc. Renews 204,000 Sq. Ft. Industrial Lease Within Middlesex County's 8A Exchange

JRT Realty/Cushman & Wakefield Alliance Handles Transaction

MONROE, N.J., June 5, 2008 -Staples, Inc., the world's largest office supply retail store chain, has renewed its long-term lease for 204,000 square feet of warehouse/industrial space at 21 S. Middlesex Ave., in Monroe Township, N.J. JRT Realty Group, Inc., handled the transaction in collaboration with strategic alliance partner, Cushman & Wakefield.

 

A leading seller of supplies, office machines, technology and business services, Staples established warehouse/office operations at the building in 1993. JRT's Jodi Pulice, founder and president, and Greg Smith, executive vice president, along with Cushman & Wakefield's Frank Caccavo, Jason Goldman and Andrew Siemsen, represented the building's owner, TIAA-CREF, the national financial services provider. JRT, along with Cushman & Wakefield, serves as the exclusive leasing and management agent for the property.

 

"Monroe Township is recognized as one of the nation's premier warehouse/distribution hubs, boasting a central location along the coveted northeast corridor at the New Jersey Turnpike's Exit 8A exchange," said Pulice. "Retail giants with large distribution and office centers, like Staples, value the market's proximity to major consumer markets and transportation hubs, including its vast network of highways, airports and ports."

 

Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) serves customers at more than 1,900 retail outlets in the United States and 16 countries worldwide. The company's target consumer includes small business owners, home office professionals and general users. In addition to retail locations, Staples sells products through the Internet at Staples.com and its catalog and direct sales operations, including subsidiary Quill Corporation. Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., the company's revenues exceed $18.2 billion annually.

 

"Middlesex County remains at the center of demand for industrial space, accounting for more than a third of the state's total activity last year. This historically strong submarket remains one of the most desirable throughout New Jersey," said Goldman.

 

Combined, the JRT/Cushman & Wakefield portfolio includes more than 11 million square feet of office and industrial product in key urban and suburban markets nationwide. JRT is the largest fully certified woman-owned commercial real estate services firm in the United States providing leasing and asset management services at more than 150 buildings, exceeding 15 million square feet. As a Minority-/Woman-Owned Business Enterprise also certified by the State of New Jersey, JRT collaborates with Cushman & Wakefield to provide value-added services to property owners and tenants with aggressive supplier diversity initiatives.

 

"Staples is an example of the type of long-term tenants we seek for all of our real estate assets,"said Steven Bither, director, Asset Management, TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate. "We look forward to continuing to work with JRT and Cushman & Wakefield to ensure that our properties provide first-class space and value for high-quality tenants, which in turn can add value for our clients."