Hartz Mountain's partnership with Garden State blossoms.

If the most successful relationships are those built slowly over time, a model example might be Hartz Mountain's partnership with the State of New Jersey.

As we implement our plan for the coming real estate cycle, our past successes become the foundation of a broader future. Reflecting on where we are going - and the rapid changes we've seen - has installed a tremendous appreciation for Hartz Mountain's position in the market, and the wonderful attributes of our home state. New Jersey's promise is reflected in the performance of our company: in down markets, its inherent strength buoys us; and in expansions, we ride its limitless potential.

Even as a diversified regional company some of Hartz Mountain's most notable developments are Manhattan's SoHo Grand Hotel and the pre-eminent office tower at 667 Madison Avenue - we are obsessive about New jersey's qualities. Specifically, our company is in the midst of a 30-year love affair with warehouse and industrial tenants in New Jersey.

The state invites them graciously through its infrastructure, and we act as an appreciative host in a liaison that looks as though it never will end.

Hartz Mountain's legacy as a developer and owner of warehouse and industrial property in the Meadowlands cannot gain enough emphasis in portraying who we are, who we want to be and what New Jersey means to us. I write this even as we are building 90 Hudson, a 420,000 square-foot prime office tower on the waterfront at Jersey City's Colgate Center. We have expanded our Ramada Hotel in Weehawken, and we are also completing construction of our Doubletree Hotel in Jersey City. We are also entertaining construction of potentially 3 million square feet of prime office space in build-to-suit and speculative projects. This comes on the heels of our renovation of Harmon Tower - the first office building in the Meadowlands - which is still going strong after 20 years.

Nothing makes me happier than our industrial portfolio. In good times like these, we run our 30 million square feet of space to 97 percent occupancy - essentially, the only space we have vacant is being prepared for future tenancies. It is hard even for me to visualize that much space, that many tenants, under the custodianship of one company. But over 30 years of steadily cultivating the advantages of the Garden State, it seems almost natural that a portfolio like ours would be accumulated. In fact, a destination with the allure of New Jersey truly is destined to inspire a presence like ours.

It is the odd real estate article that generates a greeting-card style tribute to one's state. In our case, it is long overdue. We know what our tenants know, and we're grateful enough to shout it from the hilltops: New Jersey's Meadowlands is as perfect a location as business could envision.

In a time when real estate has become a playground for financial transactions, we reaffirm our commitment to independently own and operate our properties, and we are even more strongly dedicated to our industrial roots than ever. In a time when the glamorous endeavors of our company have dominated the market's view of us; in a time when New Jersey's potential has led it to unexpected opportunity, we look to its timeless gifts. Its beauty is in its simplicity: close to 14 million people, amid the finest roadways in the United States, and guided by a government that welcomes business.