CrownPoint, Lamar detail plans for 1,200-unit self-storage facility in Newark’s Ironbound – Real Estate NJ

CrownPoint Group and Lamar Cos. plan to build a new 135,000-square-foot self-storage facility that will bring more than 1,200 units to Newark’s Ironbound section. — Courtesy: CrownPoint

By Joshua Burd

CrownPoint Group and Lamar Cos. are set to build a new 135,000-square-foot self-storage facility in Newark after acquiring a one-acre parcel in the city’s Ironbound section.

The firms this week said they’ve secured city-approved site plans for the property, located at the corner of Avenue L and Wilson Avenue, where they plan to deliver more than 1,200 climate-controlled units just east of the nexus of routes 1 and 9, seeking to serve the Ironbound’s most population-dense residential neighborhoods.

The parcel, which spans four lots, is the former site of a salvage yard.

“This facility will benefit from a high-barrier-to-entry location in Newark where there is a shortfall of land primed for development and the existing supply of new self-storage inventory has been extremely limited,” CPG Vice President Michael Legacki said. “We are pleased to partner with Lamar Companies to bring an institutional-quality self-storage facility to the city of Newark that will serve as a new neighborhood anchor and a catalyst for the repositioning of an underutilized land parcel.”

Citing “the recession-resistant nature of self-storage,” Legacki added that the site “meets or exceeds our investment criteria and will provide value to our investors, partners and lenders while benefiting the community that it will serve.”

CPG and Lamar say they expect the facility to meet demand in an underserved market with strong underlying fundamentals and demographics. They noted the neighborhood is four square miles and drives 40 percent of Newark’s economy, according to the Ironbound Community Corporation, while contributing 33 percent to its tax base.

The Ironbound is home to a mix of buildings including local factories, warehouses and industrial properties as well as one-, two- and three-family homes and apartment complexes.

“As a full-service real estate investment company, Lamar Companies is pleased to partner with CPG on this redevelopment project, which will allow both companies to deploy a shared entrepreneurial vision while creating investment value and overall community enhancement,” the firm’s Kyle Hayes said. “We look forward to achieving significant value creation in collaboration with CPG and will utilize a first-class self-storage operator at this new facility.”