New Jersey attracts a broad spectrum of tenants for a variety of reasons

For retail companies, nothing beats New Jersey's demographics of consumer wealth and population density, coupled with easy highway and mass transit access to shopping centers that offer zero sales tax on clothing. That same easy access is the prime reason why so many industrial tenants establish large warehouses across the state. And the large pools of highly educated workers in the state have made New Jersey a primary location for suburban office parks and executive headquarters. Hartz Mountain is unique in that we offer leases to tenants looking for whatever aspect of New Jersey suits their needs. Four key examples of leases completed in the last 12 months offer a perfect illustration of the importance of catering to different needs, and show why Hartz Mountain has continued to retain and attract highly significant tenants to New Jersey, even in this difficult economy. In March, Children's Place signed a lease to consolidate all of its corporate functions into 120,000 s/f at 500 Plaza Dr., in Secaucus. Children's Place will spend approximately $17 million to build out its new facility, and will continue to operate a 15,000 s/f office at Valley Brook Rd. in Lyndhurst. Children's Place has worked with Hartz Mountain since 2000, and in that time Hartz has created a terrific environment for the company, including the construction of a 400-space parking lot. Faced with an unexpected amount of excess space due to the divestiture of the Disney Store chain, Children's Place worked with Hartz to create a mix of studio design space, small warehouse and executive office at 500 Plaza Dr. Hartz also has helped Eisai establish its U.S. headquarters in Bergen County. In April, Hartz announced that Eisai Medical Research, a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company Eisai Co. Ltd. of Japan, had leased a newly renovated, three-story, 118,000 s/f office building at 155 Tice Blvd. in Woodcliff Lake, and 41,000 s/f at adjacent 300 Tice Blvd. This was one of the largest new leases completed in Bergen County that quarter. And it came less than two years after Eisai relocated from its former home inside the Glenpointe Centre in Teaneck to its new 209,000 s/f, three-story U.S. headquarters-at 100 Tice Blvd. in Woodcliff Lake-in what was one of the largest relocations in Bergen County in more than a decade. As a major international pharmaceutical company, Eisai could have built facilities anywhere, but the fact that they have committed to New Jersey is a testament to the advantages the region's location, lower rents and better buildings afford. This fall, Hartz will celebrate the opening of the Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatre inside Harmon Meadow, in Secaucus. This 14-screen, state-of-the-art stadium style theatre will feature 2,752 seats, and is one of the first Kerasotes Theatres not just in New Jersey, but the entire northeast as well. For Kerasotes to pick Harmon Meadow as the site of one of its first theatres for the region was, to put it bluntly, a no-brainer. Harmon Meadow contains 3.5 million s/f of commercial space, including seven hotels, over a dozen restaurants, the Meadowlands Exposition Center, an office park, and retail. It is just three miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, a mile from the Secaucus Transfer Station, and is directly accessible by Rte. 3 East and West and the New Jersey Turnpike North and South. Harmon Meadow, in fact, is one of Hartz's main success stories for the past 12 months. In the past year alone at Harmon Meadow, Hartz has welcomed the opening of T.J. Maxx, Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us, LA Fitness, Sports Authority, and we broke ground on the Kerasotes ShowPlace. Raymour & Flanagan is slated to open its doors this June (in the former Linen's N Things location) and will join Walmart, Sam's Club, HomeGoods, Marshalls, AC Moore and PetsMart in Harmon Meadow. As a whole, with the mix of restaurants, offices, hotels and large national retail stores, Harmon Meadow continues to be the most appealing office and retail location in the Meadowlands region, and is a powerful example of why New Jersey has so much to offer for so many different tenants. Emanuel Stern is president and COO at Hartz Mountain Industries, Inc., Secaucus, N.J.