With city-like, apartment-rental living back in vogue, New Jersey — from its urban centers to its suburban bedroom communities — is transitioning to more walkable, transit-focused neighborhoods. From Northern, Central and Southern Jersey’s green, well-manicured garden-apartment courtyards to the sleek Class A high-rises peppering Hudson County’s Gold Coast, multifamily living and investment are catalysts for sustained statewide economic and population growth. The groundwork for this trend — and the ensuing surge in construction expected to peak this year — was established a few years back with the emergence of a state-incentivized transit village designation program. While this movement started in 1999 as a means to revitalize transit-friendly communities through mixed-use development, municipal leaders have only begun to embrace and leverage this type of development and private investment long associated with urban centers. Today, New Jersey has 32 state-designated transit villages and a multitude of emerging transit centers. Early designees include Pleasantville (Atlantic County), Journal Square/Jersey City, Morristown, South Amboy, South Orange, Rahway, Cranford and Matawan. Most recently, they have been joined by relative newcomers like East Orange, Summit, Plainfield, Irvington, Park Ridge and Hackensack as well as budding hubs such as Harrison. One example of how multifamily investment is leveraging …
UNION, MOONACHIE AND FAIRFIELD, N.J. — The Stro Cos. has acquired five industrial buildings totaling 210,000 square feet in New Jersey for $14.7 million. The properties were purchased in separate transactions from different sellers including: 1110 Springfield Road, 50 Milltown Road and 60 Milltown Road in Union. The three-building, 128,000-square-foot industrial park is located near Route 22, I-78, The Garden Parkway and Newark Liberty Airport. The park is 98 percent occupied and features industrial units ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet. Stro acquired the property for $7 million. Millington Bank financed the acquisition. 111 Moonachie Ave. in Moonachie. The 52,000-square-foot industrial building features seven units. Located in the Meadowlands, the property is directly across the street from Teterboro Airport. The property was acquired for $5.3 million with one 7,000-square-foot vacancy. Malvern Bank financed the acquisition. 18 Industrial Road in Fairfield. The multi-tenant industrial building spans 30,000 square feet. Stro plans to install upgrades to the exterior of the property, which is accessible from Route 46 and I-80. Bank of New Jersey financed the $2.4 million acquisition.
LIVINGSTON, N.J. — The Azarian Group has acquired Livingston Town Center in Livingston from an affiliate of Onyx Equities for $21.3 million. Livingston Town Center is located at the intersection of East Mount Pleasant Avenue and North Livingston Avenue and includes 65,000 square feet of retail space. Tenants include Destination Maternity, 7-Eleven, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Wells Fargo, Fit 36, Restore Cold Press Juices, X-Tend Barre and 19 others. Amenities include fountain and sitting areas, a parking garage and 114 attached townhomes. Livingston Town Center is 94 percent occupied.
LINDEN, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) has arranged a $5.6 million industrial warehouse loan for a 161,000-square-foot building located at 601-721 W. Linden Ave. in Linden. Eric Seidel, a director in MMCC’s New Jersey office, arranged the debt placement.
NEWARK, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $4.8 million acquisition of a 68-unit apartment portfolio in Newark. Cushman & Wakefield’s Brian Whitmer, Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Seth Pollack and Ryan Dowd represented the buyer, a private investor. The portfolio includes two communities located one block from each other on Roseville Avenue. Both properties are three stories tall and were built in the early 1970s. The first, 467-479 Roseville Ave., contains 46 units and totals 37,000 square feet on 0.46 acres. The second, 385-391 Roseville Ave., includes 22 units and totals 17,600 square feet on 0.3 acres.
CLIFTON, N.J. — Ideal Market Place has opened a new location at the Botany Plaza shopping center in Clifton. Ideal Market Place is a brand of the supermarket chain America’s Food Basket (AFB), which specializes in international foods. According to the AFB website, the company operates within all five boroughs of New York, and has expanded into New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. AFB currently operates 43 locations, including the 24,500-square-foot Ideal Market Place in Clifton. Nassimi Realty, a privately held development and investment company, owns Botany Plaza.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Lutze Biergarten, a 23,000-square-foot outdoor beer garden, has opened along the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City. The property is adjacent to Harborside, a mixed-use asset. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. owns both properties. Lutze features three seating areas and a selection of craft beers, cider, wine and sangria, as well as food from Jake’s Downtown and Bacon Me Crazy.
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $4.2 million sale of Chimney Rock Plaza, a 14,700-square foot retail property located in Bridgewater. Ben Sgambati, Alan Cafiero and Brent Hyldahl of Marcus & Millichap’s New Jersey office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The team also secured and represented the buyer, another private investor. Chimney Rock Plaza is located at 564-574 Union Ave. The property sits on 1.7 acres near Route 287 submarket.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Markeim Chalmers has negotiated a long-term lease for The Rothman Institute to occupy 20,000 square feet of a new 40,000-square-foot medical office building at Washington Township Town Center in Washington Township. Scott Martin represented both the tenant, The Rothman Institute, and developer The Atkins Cos. in the transaction. Located between Virtua Wellness Center and Kennedy Hospital, the two-story building is scheduled for completion by January 2018.
Business was brisk in 2016 for retail real estate brokers in Central and Northern New Jersey. As online shopping continued to impact which retailers fill brick and mortar spaces, several trends emerged at malls and along New Jersey’s highways. The shrinking list of retail categories in which customers prefer or need to visit a store in person includes quick-serve and sit-down restaurants. Chick-fil-A opened new stores in Woodbridge and Jersey City; Chipotle in Holmdel; and Habit Burger in Eatontown, West Windsor, River Edge and Parsippany. Also on the list are gas stations, coffee shops, and convenience stores, including Street Corner, WaWa, Tim Horton’s, Quick Check, and 7-Eleven, which have all recently opened new locations, are under construction or are planning to open new stores throughout the state. Creative and art businesses also draw customers to brick and mortar locations. One River School of Art & Design, currently open in Englewood, is opening a second location in Allendale, and plans a roll-out nationally including a strong look at the Bell Works project in Holmdel. This art school for kids and adults and other creative concepts, such as the paint and sip retailers, remain very strong. School of Rock is another creative …