HARRISON, N.J. — A partnership between two local firms, Ironstate Development Co. and Pegasus Group, has completed the renovation of the 138-room Element Harrison-Newark hotel in Northern New Jersey. The hotel, which operates under the Marriott family of brands, now features redesigned guestrooms with kitchenettes, rainfall showers and windows that maximize natural light. In addition, the renovation involved equipping meeting/event spaces with new furnishings and technological infrastructure and upgrading the fitness center. The project team also added a new food-and-beverage concept.
HAINESPORT, N.J. — New Jersey-based developer Walters is underway on construction of a 73-unit affordable housing project in Hainesport, located outside of Philadelphia. Cornerstone at Hainesport will consist of six buildings that will house one-, two- and three-bedroom units that will be reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Amenities will include a basketball court, children’s play area and a clubhouse with computer workstations. The first units are expected to be available for occupancy by December.
NEWARK, N.J. — Eastern Union has arranged an $11 million loan for the refinancing of The BLVD, a 71,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Newark. The BLVD is an adaptive reuse of a former office building and is currently under construction. The borrower, Mid-Atlantic Investment Alliance, is converting the property into a 40-unit multifamily building with ground-floor commercial space, with eight units to be designated as affordable housing. Residential amenities will include a rooftop deck, party and game room and a fitness center. Chaim Greenfield, Joseph Sasson and Alex Jaffa of Eastdil Secured arranged the 24-month loan through an undisclosed lender.
MILLBURN, N.J. — Locally based brokerage firm The Kislak Co. Inc. has negotiated the $4 million sale of a 15-unit apartment complex in the Northern New Jersey community of Millburn. The three-story building at 357 Millburn Ave. was originally constructed in 1927 and houses 11 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units that were fully occupied at the time of sale, as well as four retail spaces. Jeff Squires of Kislak represented the seller, P&D Partners LP, in the transaction and procured the buyer, an entity doing business as Walton Millburn LLC.
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — MLB Network has signed a 207,000-square-foot, full-building lease in the Northern New Jersey community of Elmwood Park. The baseball broadcasting company will relocate its entire operation from nearby Secaucus, where it has operated for the past 16 years, to the newly constructed building at 25 Market Street, with plans to take occupancy before the 2028 season. Scott Gottlieb, Brendan Herlihy, Greg Barkan and Elliot Bok of CBRE represented MLB Network in the lease negotiations. Rob Kossar, David Knee, Ignatius Armenia, Chris Hile and Ryan Milanaik of JLL represented the owner, Crow Holdings Development.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has approved a $64 million tax credit for Bayfront Promenade, a 210-unit mixed-income multifamily project in Jersey City. The development will be located on the city’s west side and will include 74 affordable housing units and 10,600 square feet of commercial space. Amenities will include a rooftop terrace, fitness center with a yoga room, coworking lounge, community room with a kitchen area and a children’s playroom. Residents at Bayfront Promenade will also have access to onsite parking, as well as a daycare center and credit union that will both be operated by Greater Bergen Community Action Inc., which was also a co-applicant for the subsidy. The developer is an entity doing business as Bayfront Partners 32 Urban Renewal. The NJEDA delivered the tax credit through its Aspire program, which supports mixed-use, transit-oriented developments that have financing gaps. The capital stack also includes Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage & Finance Agency. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
BAYONNE AND EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Dwight Mortgage Trust, the affiliate REIT of New York City-based Dwight Capital, has funded two bridge loans totaling $45 million for the refinancing of a pair of apartment complexes in New Jersey. In the first transaction, Dwight Mortgage Trust provided $21 million in financing for Silk Lofts, an 85-unit apartment complex in the Northern New Jersey community of Bayonne that is a redevelopment of the former factory of women’s apparel retailer Maidenform. The property comprises nine studios, 49 one-bedroom units and 27 two-bedroom units. Amenities include a fitness center, package room and indoor and outdoor lounges. In the second deal, Dwight provided $24 million for Summerhill Gardens, a 96-unit property in the Central New Jersey community of East Brunswick. Summerhill Gardens offers amenities such as a fitness center, playground, pool table, indoor and outdoor lounges and outdoor grilling stations. About a quarter (24) of the residences are designated as affordable housing. The borrower on both deals was AMS Acquisitions.
ORANGE, N.J. — Local owner-operator PEEK Properties has begun leasing PINNACLE Orange Crossing, a 90-unit multifamily project in the Northern New Jersey community of Orange. The transit-served site is located within an opportunity zone, and the complex represents the third and final phase of a larger development that now totals 239 units. Residences at PINNACLE Orange Crossing come in studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, and amenities include a fitness center, resident lounge and a rooftop terrace. Rents start at approximately $2,200 per month.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — New York-based developer Alpine Residential has received $142.7 million in financing for Scholars Village, a 500-unit multifamily project that will be located in Jersey City. The financing consists of a four-year, floating-rate construction loan from Bank OZK and a preferred equity investment from EOS Residential Investors. Scholars Village will comprise two 12-story buildings with studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as 4,101 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Thomas Didio, Thomas Didio Jr. and Michael Mataras of JLL arranged the debt and equity on behalf of Alpine Residential.
CLARK, N.J. — French cosmetics company L’Oréal Groupe has announced the completion of its new North America Research & Innovation (R&I) Center located in Clark, roughly 13 miles outside Newark, N.J. The $160 million, 250,000-square-foot scientific research center is L’Oréal’s largest outside of France and will complement existing L’Oréal R&I hubs in Brazil, South Africa, India, China and Japan. “New Jersey has served as our scientific hub here in the United States for over six decades, and we are excited to expand our footprint in the state and bring all our scientific teams together in a beautiful and modern new research facility,” says David Greenberg, president and CEO of L’Oréal USA. The North America R&I Center broke ground in 2022 and comprises a 26,000-square-foot modular laboratory, a consumer center for product testing and co-creation (which accommodates up to 400 patrons) and an onsite mini factory to scale final formulations before full-scale productions. Sustainability attributes of the center include 10,000 solar panels, which meet 70 percent of the facility’s energy needs, an eco-retention pond for stormwater management and employee-led gardening and composting initiatives that create a green workspace. According to company representatives, the North America R&I Center will play a “pivotal …