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KEARNY, NJ-Saw Mill Park LLC, an affiliate of the Hackensack-based Russo Development, has obtained financing totaling $16 million for the first phase of its Saw Mill Park industrial complex here. Work began on a spec basis in mid-2004 on the 211,000-sf first phase of the park covered by the financing.

The funding was provided by Principal Global Investors in a transaction arranged by James Gunning and Donna Falzarano of the New Jersey office of CBRE/Melody. "The lender provided the borrower with a forward commitment for a speculative property," Gunning says. "The building was leased during the construction phase."

This past September, Russo Development signed HD Smith, a wholesale drug distribution company, to a full-building lease for its Northeast distribution center. The company is set to move into the newly completed building from another Russo property nearby. The build-out of Saw Mill Park calls for a second facility of up to 250,000 sf on 25 acres.