"Crate and Barrel's distribution center here has proven to be efficient and effective in supplying the company's retail stores along the East Coast," says Jules Nissim, a senior director for C&W in East Rutherford, NJ, who co-brokered the deal with Stan Danzig, executive director in the same office, and Gene Spiegelman, executive director of C&W Retail Services. "The company is also realizing the significant benefits of being in a foreign-trade zone, including considerable savings in supply chain logistics."

As reported by GlobeSt.com, in early 2003 Crate and Barrel initially leased 675,000 sf for a build-to-suit distribution center at the site, located in the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8A submarket. That commitment, also brokered by the C&W trio, actually yielded two facilities, a furniture building of 300,000 sf and a housewares distribution building of 375,000 sf. Rockefeller delivered both buildings in 2004.

In the latest deal, Crate and Barrel has exercised an option to increase the size of the housewares building to a total of 650,000 sf, with the new space designated to serve as a pick-and-pack fulfillment operation for direct marketing orders. Rockefeller officials say they expect to complete that expansion by the end of this year.