East Hanover Groundbreaking

November 14, 2024—RealCold, an operator and provider of cold chain services for the food sector (including manufacturers, grocers, and the food service industry), broke ground on a 380,000 sq ft (18M cu ft), fully-convertible, temperature-controlled facility in East Hanover, NJ.  It is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2026. The facility will sit less than 30 minutes from the Port of Newark, and its position on Route 10 will allow easy access to service the tri-state area. RealCold has two other significant cold storage projects in-development including a 386,000 sq. ft. facility in Lakeland, FL (between Orlando and Tampa), and a 312,000 sq. ft. facility in Lockhart, TX (between San Antonio and Austin). Both the Lakeland and Lockhart facilities will be available for occupancy in the first quarter of 2025. Upon completion of the three under-construction projects, RealCold will operate nearly 1.6 million sq. ft. (62M cu. ft.) of cold storage space across eight sites coast-to-coast.

Keith Goldsmith, Chief Executive of RealCold, lauded the groundbreaking as a win for the region and for existing and future customers, stating “We are thrilled to kickoff this project in East Hanover which is in no small part due to our various partners whose collaboration led us to this premier site in northern New Jersey.  Our collective research, input from customers, and demand from the market, has reinforced that this is the most strategic location to bring significant cold storage on-line.  We believe it will be a game-changer for importers/exporters, grocers, food manufacturers, and online retailers with operations in the region.”

Michael Winston, Managing Director at Related Fund Management (RFM) and sponsor of RealCold, echoed the sentiment, noting “We are fortunate to have had an opportunity to secure this property in such a highly coveted market, and thank those who have worked to make today a reality.  We are proud of the vision we have for this site—a modern facility that has been engineered with exacting standards and optimized to service the demands of the food industry for years to come.