Wharton Plans Modern Industrial Space in Cherry Hill After Buying 43,000 Sq. Ft. Call Center

From Real Estate NJ
By Joshua Burd

Wharton Industrial has acquired a nearly 43,000-square-foot facility in Cherry Hill that it now plans to update and reintroduce as a modernized warehouse space.

The firm, a platform of Wharton Equity Partners, paid an undisclosed price in the sale-leaseback transaction at 1930 Olney Ave. MRS BPO, an affiliate of the seller, will remain at the property on a short-term basis, continuing to use it as a call center and office space until vacating it next year, when Wharton will complete a full renovation to return it to warehouse and distribution space.

The 42,571-square-foot building with 17-foot clear ceiling heights is the latest addition to the firm’s holdings in Cherry Hill. Sean Kelly of KBC Advisors represented Wharton Industrial in the deal, while Leor Hemo and Emily Stein of Vantage Commercial represented the seller.

“As the capital markets environment continues to show signs of improvement, we remain actively in pursuit of well-located industrial opportunities in southern New Jersey and greater Philadelphia,” said Nick Aileo, director of acquisitions at Wharton Industrial. “1930 Olney is representative of an ideal value-add investment for Wharton, allowing us to reposition a building that has been unavailable for 16 years and deliver high-quality warehouse space in a size that matches where we see strong tenant demand.”

According to a news release, Wharton’s upgrades will include activating loading dock punchouts in the rear of the property, creating a truck court, interior demolition work, new LED lighting, warehouse white-boxing, exterior painting and other cosmetic improvements. The plan will follow the firm’s past repositioning projects in the region, which include the gut renovation of a 283,000-square-foot former subway repair facility in Philadelphia to create a last-mile warehouse that would attract Amazon as a tenant.

In addition, Wharton repositioned a 200,000-square-foot warehouse in Croydon, Pennsylvania, that it later leased to a third-party logistics firm. All told, the platform has been involved in more than 9 million square feet of industrial acquisitions and development since its launch in late 2017, including the 2023 sale of the 37-building, 1.3 million-square-foot Twinbridge Industrial Park in Pennsauken.