VINELAND, N.J. — A joint venture between Aspen Real Estate and Devli Real Estate has purchased MainTree Shopping Center, a 138,000-square-foot retail property in the Southern New Jersey city of Vineland. The sales price was $13.7 million. The new ownership will implement a value-add program at the center, which houses tenants such as GNC and Hair Cuttery. Joe French led a Marcus & Millichap team that represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
By Scott Mertz, SIOR, president, NAI Mertz The industrial sector has proven to be the only entity with innate immunity to the coronavirus. The onset of the virus has had nary an impact on the soaring demand, rising lease rates and rapid pace of new construction in the major industrial markets throughout the nation. If anything, the increased reliance on home delivery due to stay-at-home orders has only elevated the need for well-located warehouse space from e-commerce companies. That’s been the story in Southern New Jersey, where demand remains high and inventory is in short supply. The vacancy rate has dropped below 4.5 percent, and market rent has been on a steady ascent, standing at $6.55 per square foot at the end of 2020. With more players than open seats, it’s no surprise that developers are seeking to build on any viable plot of land in the region. Construction start activity reached a crescendo in the third quarter of 2020 with 4.2 million square feet entering development. All told, there is 7.1 million square feet of new construction on the way in Southern New Jersey. Many of these facilities will be delivered to market fully occupied. Over the past five …
READINGTON, N.J. — Larken Associates, a New Jersey-based developer, has broken ground on The Ridge at Readington, a 254-unit apartment project that will be located about 50 miles west of New York City. The property will feature 21 different floor plans with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and individual washers and dryers. Amenities will include a clubhouse with a theater room, pool, gym, outdoor lounge, children’s play area, a dog park and walking trails. Completion is slated for summer 2022.
NEWARK AND IRVINGTON, N.J. — Gebroe-Hammer Associates has brokered the $72 million sale of a portfolio of multifamily properties totaling 641 units in Northern New Jersey. Five of the properties are located within a 1.8-mile radius of one another in Newark, and the rest of the properties are located in nearby Irvington. David Oropeza, David Jarvis and Adam Zweibel of Gebroe-Hammer represented the seller, OneWall Partners, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, an undisclosed private investment group. Brad Domenico of Progress Capital arranged acquisition financing for the deal.
HACKENSACK, N.J. — The Kislak Company Inc. has brokered the $3.3 million sale of The Overlook, a 140-unit apartment building in the Northern New Jersey community of Hackensack. The property offers one- and two-bedroom units, most of which have private patios and garages. Daniel Lanni of Kislak represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The newly constructed building was fully occupied at the time of sale.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — JLL has provided a $20 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Solaris Lofts, a 72-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail space in Jersey City. Built in 2019, the five-story building features studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 733 square feet and amenities such as a fitness center, dog park, resident lounge and a rooftop deck. Matthew Pizzolato and Thomas Didio of JLL originated the 10-year, floating-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, PERE Holdings.
NEWARK, N.J. — The U.S. arm of beauty retailer L’Occitane en Provence has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and announced plans to close several stores in an effort to optimize the company’s U.S. footprint. L’Occitane currently operates 166 stores nationally. At least 23 stores are being targeted for closure in the U.S. and the company is taking a closer look at its other leases in hopes of better positioning L’Occitane for success over the next few years, according to reports by the New York Business Journal. Stores are set to remain open through the restructuring process. L’Occitane is the latest regional mall mainstay to struggle under strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was recently sued by Simon Property Group — one of the largest shopping mall operators in the U.S. — for more than $3.7 million in back rent, according to reports by Crain’s New York Business. While L’Occitane has seen year-over-year growth in online sales, the business continues to feel the impact of high rent obligations, which the company deems no longer tenable. “Today’s action is a pivotal step forward in achieving the full potential of …
HAMILTON, N.J. — CBRE has negotiated the sale of Kuser Industrial Center, a 145,950-square-foot industrial property located just outside of Trenton in Hamilton, for $29.6 million. The property is under construction and is expected to be complete in February. Brian Fiumara, Michael Hines, Brad Ruppel and Lauren Dawicki of CBRE represented the seller, Scannell Properties, in the transaction. The buyer was Cohen Asset Management. CBRE will also handling leasing of the property.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — An undisclosed wholesale distributor of home furnishings and housewares has signed a 192,000-square-foot industrial lease in South Brunswick, located in between Trenton and Newark. San Francisco-based Terreno Realty Corp. (NYSE: TRNO) owns the property. The lease term is 10 years.
HAMILTON, N.J. —The value of commercial and multifamily construction starts in 2020 tumbled 20 percent to end the year at $193.4 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Within the top 20 metropolitan areas that the Hamilton-based research firm tracks, the fall was more severe as that group’s starts fell by 23 percent in value, or $111.1 billion. Overall, commercial real estate starts fell 26 percent in value to $104 billion, while multifamily building activity slid by 11 percent to $89.5 billion. Richard Branch, chief economist for Dodge Data, says that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on commercial and multifamily construction across the country with only a few markets seeing year-over-year increases in construction starts compared to 2019. “The construction sector will show signs of recovery in 2021, but, the road back to full recovery will be long and difficult. The effects of the pandemic on the U.S. economy and building markets will be felt for several years,” says Branch. “While some areas stabilized over the summer, the current wave of the virus has further hindered activity.” Only one metro area in Dodge Data’s top 10, Phoenix, reported a year-over increase in construction starts. The No. 7 …
