Ares Lends $135M on N.J. Cold Storage, Industrial Project

A joint venture among Related Fund Management, Onyx Equities and Russo Development has landed $135 million of construction financing to build a cold-storage industrial development in northern New Jersey, Commercial Observer has learned.

An Ares Management fund provided the loan on the sponsorship’s planned High Point on 10 project in East Hanover, N.J., that will comprise 584,000 square feet of cold storage and industrial space. The property’s 380,000-square-foot cold-storage facility will be leased to RealCold, a national cold-storage provider financially backed by Related. 

Newmark (NMRK) arranged the transaction with a team led by Jordan Roeschlaub, Jonathan Firestone and Nick Scribani.

“This financing package will enable the continued expansion and success of RealCold’s platform across the United States,” Roeschlaub said in a statement. 

Located at 59 Route 10, about 30 miles west of Manhattan, the High Point on 10 project is slated for completion in early 2026. 

Related also secured a $74 construction loan in January from BGO to develop a 368,000-square-foot property in Auburndale, Fla., that will also be operated by RealCold. Since Related launched the RealCold platform in late 2023, it has grown to be the 10th-largest cold-storage operator spanning 1.6 million square feet across the portfolio, according to Newmark.

Officials at Related Fund Management and Russo Development did not immediately return requests for comment. Ares and Onyx Equities declined to comment. 

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com