(Read more on the industrial market.)
RIVERHEAD, NY-Rechler Equity Partners has been given the nod to buy the 300-acre former Grumman parcel from the town of Riverhead for $35 million. After a five-month deliberation, the town unanimously voted Rechler as preferred developer for the 300-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton.
Rechler is planning an industrial park of about 2.5 million sf. Rechler, already the largest owner/operator of industrial properties in Long Island, has a six-million-sf portfolio currently 98.6% occupied. Audiovox, Forest Labs, Reuters and Estee Lauder are major tenants.
"This is a very ambitious project with extremely high goals," Mitchell Rechler, one of the company's managers, tells GlobeSt.com. "Filling 2.5 million sf of industrial space requires exceptional leasing expertise and longstanding relationships with potential tenants and brokers. We have all of these. Throughout our history, each time we develop a new industrial park, a substantial portion of leases comes from the highly entrepreneurial companies that are already our tenants."
Audiovox, Forest Labs, Reuters and Estee Lauder are just some examples of companies that started in smaller spaces within the Rechler Equity portfolio and grew exponentially over time, often needing to be moved from one building to another.
"Riverhead had a bid process that began in the fall of last year. They narrowed the bidders down, and we were finally picked." Rechler says. "The other bidders really had no industrial development experience. We have six million sf, most of which we've developed [ourselves]." Mitchell Rechler runs Rechler Equity Partners with his cousin, Gregg Rechler, his father, Donald Rechler, and his uncle, Roger Rechler.
"Generally speaking, companies don't move to Long Island. It's always been an entrepreneurial place," he describes. "Companies have grown tremendously. They might start with 20,000 sf, grow from 20 to 40, and from 40 to 60, over a 10-year period. There is a demand, and we have the capability to tap from our existing tenant base to expand into Calverton." When the project is complete, Rechler will hold 8.5 million sf of industrial space in Long Island.
"The market dynamics are very strong, in that there is very little available land for future development, of any type. To have a parcel like this is a great opportunity," Rechler concludes.
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