Joint venture buys 6.9-acre outdoor storage lot in Old Bridge — with plans of doing more in N.J.

The joint venture between New York City-based private equity fund Centerbridge Partners and Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial has made its first industrial outdoor storage purchase in New Jersey — and it intends to make more.

The joint venture announced Wednesday that it has acquired an asset in Old Bridge that totals 6.9 acres. The property is fully leased to two tenants utilizing the site for truck and trailer storage and has excellent access to ports of New York and New Jersey, as well as major highways, including Interstate 95, the Garden State Parkway and Route 9.

The purchase, along with a 4.1-acre property in California, follows the goal of the joint venture to expanding its existing portfolio in coastal, infill industrial markets nearby ports and key logistics nodes.

John Lettieri, market officer at Dalfen Industrial, said trailer storage sites are vital in port-centric markets.

“Redevelopment and increasingly restrictive zoning have made these types of properties difficult to replicate,” he said. “We are excited to grow our footprint in the New Jersey IOS market and intend to continue acquiring similar properties across northern and central New Jersey.”

Matt Dabrowski, senior managing director at Centerbridge, also praised the purchase.

“These unique acquisitions complement our existing portfolio of infill properties located in high-barrier-to-entry coastal markets,” he said. “As the criticality of IOS in the logistics ecosystem continues to grow, we are excited to offer additional properties catering to port-driven tenants.”

Centerbridge Partners is a private investment management firm employing a flexible approach across investment disciplines — real estate, private equity and private credit — in an effort to develop the most attractive opportunities for investors. The firm, which was founded in 2005, has approximately $36 billion in capital under management.

Dalfen Industrial is one of the largest privately owned industrial real estate firms in the U.S. and a leader in the last-mile property sector. It currently owns and operates millions of square feet of premier industrial properties throughout the country.