Average asking lease rates are up 26.6 percent from their Q1 2012 post-recession low. Growth realized in the past year has been particularly substantial, rising at least $0.10 per square foot each quarter. The state's overall average asking lease rate increased to $6.52 per square foot, which amounts to a 1.6 percent quarter-over-quarter increase.

Availability, which had reached a post-recession low of seven percent in the third quarter of 2016, has since recorded a slight, nine-basis-point increase. This blip arose from the introduction of newly available space into the market, despite remaining occupied in most cases.

While the overall tightness of the market is being sharply felt by industrial occupiers of all sizes, the impact has been especially hard on large tenants. Indeed, as of the second quarter, the state offered no availabilities for industrial space measuring 500,000 square foot or greater. There had been three at the beginning of 2016. And only five options exist for tenants seeking between 250,000 and 499,999 square foot of space

Deal Tracker Daily

NEW YORK, NY—The Kaufman Organization and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate announced today that Code Climate, a platform that monitors the health of user's code and improves code quality, has selected 155 West 23^rd Street as its New York headquarters. The firm, which will be housed across a full-floor 6,933-square-foot pre-built space on the fifth floor, will be moving into its space immediately. Kaufman and its ownership partners, Goldman Sachs, have put a significant emphasis on transforming 155 West 23^rd Street into a destination office building, and with leasing partners, Cushman & Wakefield, have been able to attract two firms to the property within the last two months.

WOODLAND PARK, NJ—A planned repositioning of 5 Garret Mountain Plaza in Woodland Park, N.J., presents a unique opportunity for a major employer to establish a high-profile corporate identity in a fully modernized office building. The 101,880-square-foot property – located via Exit 56 situated at the four-way interchange of I-80 – is part of a three-building, 30-acre campus that is owned by affiliates of Mountain Development Corp. The free-standing class A building is slated to undergo a complete renovation, offering a blank canvas for companies seeking technologically-advanced office space complemented by first-class amenities, and maximum exposure and visibility, according to David Simson, vice-chairman and chief operating officer of Newmark Knight Frank's New Jersey office, exclusive leasing agent for 5 Garret Mountain Plaza. Simson is heading the leasing effort, along with NKF's Blake Goodman, Frank Recine and Colleen Maguire.

HACKENSACK, NJ—Four law firms and one accounting firm have renewed leases totaling approximately 5,240 square feet at Court Plaza in Hackensack, N.J., according to Alfred Sanzari Enterprises, owner and manager of the class A office complex. All five tenants are part of Court Plaza's small space program, which provides flexible term, turnkey office suites for smaller legal and professional services firms. The transactions, negotiated in-house by Stephen C. Jennings, vice-president of leasing and marketing, include: The law office of Lorraine Teleky-Petrella, renewing a 1,480-square-foot lease; EisnerAmper, a full-service accounting and advisory firm,1,370 square feet; law firm Cowen & Jacobs, 1,245 square feet; family and matrimonial law firm Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, 680 square feet; and law firm Vosbikian & Vosbikian, 460-square-foot lease.

LYNDHURST, NJ—Ripco Real Estate signed the first New Jersey for Hurricane BTW in Plaza 46, 1530 Route 46 West, Woodland Park, NJ. Hurricane BTW is the rapidly expanding fast casual concept based on the successful Hurricane Grill & Wings full-service restaurant concept. Hurricane Grill and Wings, with more than 62 restaurants throughout the United States, is known for its jumbo, fresh wings, more than 30 signature sauces and rubs and its tropical, laid-back vibe.

BRANCHBURG, NJ—Allergan Sales and one of its subsidiaries, LifeCell, have leased and purchased two buildings at Branchburg Corporate Campus owned by Murray Construction. The 136,283-square-foot 1 Millennium Way in Branchburg, NJ, serves as the US headquarters for LifeCell, which just signed a new 12-year lease at the building. Simultaneously, the brokerage teams negotiated the acquisition of 4 Millennium Way, a 147,000-square-foot building, for Allergan Sales. Murray Construction, the landlord and seller of the buildings, was exclusively represented by Newmark Knight Frank's Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer for New Jersey David Simson.

BEDFORD, MA—Following The Davis Companies' impressive transformation of The Xchange, the commercial real estate firm has executed a 208,686-square-foot, long-term lease renewal with iRobot, the leading global consumer robot company. The Xchange is an eight-building, 475,000-square-foot office park that TDC strategically renovated into a vibrant and cutting-edge technology campus. The Xchange offers tenants a flexible, Class-A work environment with modern onsite and area amenities in the booming Northwest submarket. Located within two miles of Burlington's latest retail development on 3^rd Avenue and just one exit north of Route 128, The Xchange is an ideal location for growing companies looking for access to amenities, talent, and transportation within a technology hub.

EAST ORANGE, NJ—(Updated, 8/22/2017)—KeyBank Real Estate Capital provided a $54.8 million bridge to permanent financing package for Essence 144, in East Orange, NJ. Essence 144 is an adaptive reuse project in which the existing structure has been redeveloped and enhanced in both scale and splendor. In keeping with the trend of B360 properties, Essence 144 is a residence that exemplifies contemporary living at an economical price point. By way of B360's developments, East Orange, a once underserved locality, is now privy to modern, multi-family living with an array of amenities, proximity to public transit, and a diverse residential community. Tom Peloquin and John Gilmore, IV of Key's Capital Markets and Community Development Lending and Investment Group arranged the refinancing.

WATERTOWN, MA—NAI Hunneman recently completed a 10,501 square-foot sublease transaction with InCrowd. InCrowd, which provides real-time market intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries, is moving from the Back Bay to a new headquarters space at Riverworks, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown. NAI Hunneman Urban Advisory Group members Peter Evans, Brooke Blue and Matthew Davis represented InCrowd in the transaction, while Ryan Romano & Brian Hines of Cushman & Wakefield represented the sub-landlord.

Money Moves

SADDLE BROOK, NJ—CBRE has promoted Eric Wagner to leader of the New Jersey project management team. Wagner will focus on business development as he partners with CBRE's leasing and sales professionals on new opportunities. Tasked to lead the growth of CBRE's project management offering in New Jersey, he will be solidifying CBRE's industrial project management service, which is currently working nationally for BASF, Dow and Ford, among others. Coordinating with leasing professionals in NJ to support occupiers, Wagner will also work closely with agency and asset management to support landlords. Wagner has more than 25 years of experience in the design and construction industry, including five years at SJP Properties as vice president of development. He has worked on large interior fit-outs, building repositioning and retail projects. His client experience includes projects for BMW, EY, Deutsche Bank and H&M.

BOSTON, MA—Jason Roth has joined NAI Hunneman's Urban Advisory Group where he will focus his efforts on landlord and tenant representation in the Boston and Cambridge submarkets. Before joining NAI Hunneman, he held real estate advisory positions at Cushman & Wakefield and JLL, where he worked on local real estate assignments as well as national and international corporate service accounts. Roth is a graduate of Northeastern University's D'Amore McKim School of Business with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

YORK, PA—ROCK Commercial Real Estate has hired Becky Murphy from Cushman & Wakefield in Baltimore to help strengthen ROCK Commercial's brand recognition in the market. Murphy was with Cushman & Wakefield for 14 years, serving as their Director of Marketing & Research for the last six.

CORRECTION, 8/22/2017, 9:56 a.m.: Because of incomplete information provided to GlobeSt.com at the time of publication, an earlier version of the item about KeyBank's financing for Essence 144 in East Orange did not include the correct total value of the financing package. This story has been updated with the correct information.

Here is a roundup of the latest leases, sales and other transactions in the Northeast middle markets.

This week by the numbers

High demand, high rents and low availability kept New Jersey's industrial real estate sector busy into the second quarter, according to CBRE's Q2 2017 New Jersey Industrial MarketView Report.

Rental rate growth has been one of the most pronounced indicators of the industrial sector's strength over the past several years. With low availability rates continuing to buoy pricing, an 8.1 percent surge in year-over-year rental rates amounts to the largest increase seen during any four consecutive quarters post-recession.

Average asking lease rates are up 26.6 percent from their Q1 2012 post-recession low. Growth realized in the past year has been particularly substantial, rising at least $0.10 per square foot each quarter. The state's overall average asking lease rate increased to $6.52 per square foot, which amounts to a 1.6 percent quarter-over-quarter increase.

Availability, which had reached a post-recession low of seven percent in the third quarter of 2016, has since recorded a slight, nine-basis-point increase. This blip arose from the introduction of newly available space into the market, despite remaining occupied in most cases.

While the overall tightness of the market is being sharply felt by industrial occupiers of all sizes, the impact has been especially hard on large tenants. Indeed, as of the second quarter, the state offered no availabilities for industrial space measuring 500,000 square foot or greater. There had been three at the beginning of 2016. And only five options exist for tenants seeking between 250,000 and 499,999 square foot of space

Deal Tracker Daily

NEW YORK, NY—The Kaufman Organization and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate announced today that Code Climate, a platform that monitors the health of user's code and improves code quality, has selected 155 West 23^rd Street as its New York headquarters. The firm, which will be housed across a full-floor 6,933-square-foot pre-built space on the fifth floor, will be moving into its space immediately. Kaufman and its ownership partners, Goldman Sachs, have put a significant emphasis on transforming 155 West 23^rd Street into a destination office building, and with leasing partners, Cushman & Wakefield, have been able to attract two firms to the property within the last two months.

WOODLAND PARK, NJ—A planned repositioning of 5 Garret Mountain Plaza in Woodland Park, N.J., presents a unique opportunity for a major employer to establish a high-profile corporate identity in a fully modernized office building. The 101,880-square-foot property – located via Exit 56 situated at the four-way interchange of I-80 – is part of a three-building, 30-acre campus that is owned by affiliates of Mountain Development Corp. The free-standing class A building is slated to undergo a complete renovation, offering a blank canvas for companies seeking technologically-advanced office space complemented by first-class amenities, and maximum exposure and visibility, according to David Simson, vice-chairman and chief operating officer of Newmark Knight Frank's New Jersey office, exclusive leasing agent for 5 Garret Mountain Plaza. Simson is heading the leasing effort, along with NKF's Blake Goodman, Frank Recine and Colleen Maguire.

HACKENSACK, NJ—Four law firms and one accounting firm have renewed leases totaling approximately 5,240 square feet at Court Plaza in Hackensack, N.J., according to Alfred Sanzari Enterprises, owner and manager of the class A office complex. All five tenants are part of Court Plaza's small space program, which provides flexible term, turnkey office suites for smaller legal and professional services firms. The transactions, negotiated in-house by Stephen C. Jennings, vice-president of leasing and marketing, include: The law office of Lorraine Teleky-Petrella, renewing a 1,480-square-foot lease; EisnerAmper, a full-service accounting and advisory firm,1,370 square feet; law firm Cowen & Jacobs, 1,245 square feet; family and matrimonial law firm Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, 680 square feet; and law firm Vosbikian & Vosbikian, 460-square-foot lease.

LYNDHURST, NJ—Ripco Real Estate signed the first New Jersey for Hurricane BTW in Plaza 46, 1530 Route 46 West, Woodland Park, NJ. Hurricane BTW is the rapidly expanding fast casual concept based on the successful Hurricane Grill & Wings full-service restaurant concept. Hurricane Grill and Wings, with more than 62 restaurants throughout the United States, is known for its jumbo, fresh wings, more than 30 signature sauces and rubs and its tropical, laid-back vibe.

BRANCHBURG, NJ—Allergan Sales and one of its subsidiaries, LifeCell, have leased and purchased two buildings at Branchburg Corporate Campus owned by Murray Construction. The 136,283-square-foot 1 Millennium Way in Branchburg, NJ, serves as the US headquarters for LifeCell, which just signed a new 12-year lease at the building. Simultaneously, the brokerage teams negotiated the acquisition of 4 Millennium Way, a 147,000-square-foot building, for Allergan Sales. Murray Construction, the landlord and seller of the buildings, was exclusively represented by Newmark Knight Frank's Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer for New Jersey David Simson.

BEDFORD, MA—Following The Davis Companies' impressive transformation of The Xchange, the commercial real estate firm has executed a 208,686-square-foot, long-term lease renewal with iRobot, the leading global consumer robot company. The Xchange is an eight-building, 475,000-square-foot office park that TDC strategically renovated into a vibrant and cutting-edge technology campus. The Xchange offers tenants a flexible, Class-A work environment with modern onsite and area amenities in the booming Northwest submarket. Located within two miles of Burlington's latest retail development on 3^rd Avenue and just one exit north of Route 128, The Xchange is an ideal location for growing companies looking for access to amenities, talent, and transportation within a technology hub.

EAST ORANGE, NJ—(Updated, 8/22/2017)—KeyBank Real Estate Capital provided a $54.8 million bridge to permanent financing package for Essence 144, in East Orange, NJ. Essence 144 is an adaptive reuse project in which the existing structure has been redeveloped and enhanced in both scale and splendor. In keeping with the trend of B360 properties, Essence 144 is a residence that exemplifies contemporary living at an economical price point. By way of B360's developments, East Orange, a once underserved locality, is now privy to modern, multi-family living with an array of amenities, proximity to public transit, and a diverse residential community. Tom Peloquin and John Gilmore, IV of Key's Capital Markets and Community Development Lending and Investment Group arranged the refinancing.

WATERTOWN, MA—NAI Hunneman recently completed a 10,501 square-foot sublease transaction with InCrowd. InCrowd, which provides real-time market intelligence to the life sciences and healthcare industries, is moving from the Back Bay to a new headquarters space at Riverworks, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown. NAI Hunneman Urban Advisory Group members Peter Evans, Brooke Blue and Matthew Davis represented InCrowd in the transaction, while Ryan Romano & Brian Hines of Cushman & Wakefield represented the sub-landlord.

Money Moves

SADDLE BROOK, NJ—CBRE has promoted Eric Wagner to leader of the New Jersey project management team. Wagner will focus on business development as he partners with CBRE's leasing and sales professionals on new opportunities. Tasked to lead the growth of CBRE's project management offering in New Jersey, he will be solidifying CBRE's industrial project management service, which is currently working nationally for BASF, Dow and Ford, among others. Coordinating with leasing professionals in NJ to support occupiers, Wagner will also work closely with agency and asset management to support landlords. Wagner has more than 25 years of experience in the design and construction industry, including five years at SJP Properties as vice president of development. He has worked on large interior fit-outs, building repositioning and retail projects. His client experience includes projects for BMW, EY, Deutsche Bank and H&M.

BOSTON, MA—Jason Roth has joined NAI Hunneman's Urban Advisory Group where he will focus his efforts on landlord and tenant representation in the Boston and Cambridge submarkets. Before joining NAI Hunneman, he held real estate advisory positions at Cushman & Wakefield and JLL, where he worked on local real estate assignments as well as national and international corporate service accounts. Roth is a graduate of Northeastern University's D'Amore McKim School of Business with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

YORK, PA—ROCK Commercial Real Estate has hired Becky Murphy from Cushman & Wakefield in Baltimore to help strengthen ROCK Commercial's brand recognition in the market. Murphy was with Cushman & Wakefield for 14 years, serving as their Director of Marketing & Research for the last six.

CORRECTION, 8/22/2017, 9:56 a.m.: Because of incomplete information provided to GlobeSt.com at the time of publication, an earlier version of the item about KeyBank's financing for Essence 144 in East Orange did not include the correct total value of the financing package. This story has been updated with the correct information.