Vineland, NJ — Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. served as agent to a Fortune 500 food manufacturer in the sale of 500 W. Elmer Rd., a 580,000 s/f manufacturing/warehouse facility on 65 acres in Vineland, to F&S Produce Co. Inc. The new location satisfies F&S Produce’s manufacturing needs and cuts six months from the company’s original expansion plan of building another facility in Cumberland County, to increase its production capacity. The manufacturing and warehouse facility at 500 W. Elmer Rd. offers four times the space of the current facilities to accommodate F&S Produce’s future expansion. F&S Produce has a longstanding manufacturing presence in Southern New Jersey including two production facilities in Rosenhayn, as well as a trucking operation and freezer warehouse. “I was happy with how the Cushman & Wakefield team conducted themselves. They were very professional and communicative in addressing our needs as well as the seller’s needs,” said Sam Pipitone, F&S Produce president and CEO. “This significant facility sale to F&S Produce represents a successful outcome of job retention and economic growth in the City of Vineland and for the state of New Jersey,” said managing director Matthew Marshall, who represented the seller with Brian Hilger of Cushman & Wakefield’s Philadelphia office supported by Gerry Blinebury of the Harrisburg office. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority recognized the importance of F&S Produce’s move to job creation and retention in the region with $21.7 million in state tax credits. According to the economic development organization Choose New Jersey, the Garden State is home to a thriving $105 billion food industry and agriculture sector that continues to grow, with 1,900 food manufacturing companies employing nearly 44,000 people in total and, earning New Jersey Saveur magazine’s moniker of “most edible” state in America. Cushman & Wakefield’s overall portfolio of work on behalf of food manufacturers and cold chain facilities in southern New Jersey continues to grow, generating more than 1.5 million s/f in sales and leasing activity in the region during the past 12 months. “In the era of healthy diets and farm-to-table dining, we see sustainably grown food, process manufacturing and cold chain logistics returning as a major economic engine for the Garden State,” Marshall said.