JLL Inks Lease for Festo Didactic in Eatontown

On Jan 16, 2015

JLL has completed a full-building transaction for Festo Didactic at 607 Industrial Way West in Eatontown. The industrial education equipment and solution provider leased the entire 55,000-square-foot, Class A office property from building owner The Donato Group.

The tenant was represented by John Buckley and Chris Conklin, vice presidents, and Jon Compitello, senior associate, all with JLL. The building owner was represented in-house by Corbett Donato, principal.

“Festo Didactic had acquired New Jersey-based Lab-Volt and was considering a number of options, including consolidating the firm into its Hauppauge, N.Y., headquarters,” said Buckley. “The tipping point came when the Economic Development Authority approved an incentives package for Festo Didactic if the firm chose to keep its new partner in New Jersey. We were able to complete the transaction quickly, beginning negotiations with The Donato Group for the tenant in May and signing the lease in August.”

Festo Didactic leased 607 Industrial Way West for five years. At the site, the industrial education equipment and solution provider recently opened the Festo Didactic Center for Education and Training for Advanced Technologies, a high-tech training lab focusing on the country’s manufacturing industry. The workforce education center will ensure that employees are qualified for highly sophisticated manufacturing work. It will also provide courses and seminars for students and teachers.

In addition to completing the lease transaction, JLL’s Project and Development Services group, led by Bryan Van Ost, senior project manager, and Patrick Lubin, project coordinator, oversaw the renovations that Festo Didactic required prior to relocating to the facility. The team faced a tight timeline to complete the work, as the tenant planned to begin operations at the facility in November 2014. The PDS group later supervised the tenant’s relocation to 607 Industrial Way West.

The single-story 607 Industrial Way West was constructed in 1964 and acquired by The Donato Group in 2009. The office building is located near Exit 13A on Route 18 in Eatontown and Exit 105 on the Garden State Parkway.

JLL is a leader in the northern/central New Jersey commercial real estate market, with more than 500 professionals and support staff providing agency leasing, tenant representation, industrial services, strategic consulting, project and development services, property management and investment sales/capital markets services to New Jersey’s leading corporate tenants, investors and landlords.

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