NEWTON, MASS. — Boston Realty Advisors has arranged the $20.9 million sale of Paragon Towers in Newton. The 60,826-square-foot property at 233 Needham St. sold to Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corp. (MSIC), which purchased it from KS Partners. Boston Realty Advisors’ Jeremy Freid and Adam Meixner represented KS Partners in the transaction. Jason Weisman, Nick Herz, and Michael D’Hemecourt of Boston Realty Advisors were also involved in the sale process.
WAYNE, PA. — A joint venture between Keystone Property Group and Argosy Real Estate Partners has sold Devon Square in Wayne. The two-building, 140,000-square-foot office complex is located at 724-744 W. Lancaster Ave. and sold for $33.5 million. Doug Rodio and Ben Appel of HFF represented the sellers in the transaction. After acquiring the property in 2005, Keystone conducted a capital improvement campaign updating the interiors and exteriors and remodeling common areas. The office buildings are 95 percent occupied with tenants including Merrill Lynch, Penn Liberty Bank, Keller Williams and Main Line Surgery Center. Situated on Route 30, the property is located near I-76, I-476, Route 202 and SEPTA train lines. Across Lancaster Avenue from Devon Square is Devon Village, a Whole Foods-anchored shopping center.
ITHACA, N.Y. — EdR has begun construction on a new on-campus housing project at Cornell University. The Maplewood Graduate and Professional Student Housing complex will feature 872 beds in 441 units, a playground for children, a community center, study areas and Wi-Fi. The 15-acre project is set to open in August 2018 with a mix of townhouses and apartments.
CHICOPEE, MASS. — Investment sales broker Northeast Private Client Group has brokered the $6.4 million sale of Brook Edge Apartments, an 82-unit apartment property located at 14-64 Simard Drive in Chicopee. Edward Jordan and Bradley Balletto of Northeast Private Client Group represented the seller, Brook Edge LLC, in the transaction. The firm’s Taylor Perun sourced the buyer, Naviah Investments LLC. Built in 1970, Brook Edge Apartments sits on 2.8 acres near I-91, I-391 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. The 82-unit property features laundry rooms in each building.
NEW YORK CITY — Several new restaurants have been announced at Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan. Opening in late 2018, restaurants at the site will include Chef Thomas Keller’s American restaurant, a new concept from David Chang’s Momofuku, Chef Costas Spiliadis’ Greek seafood restaurant Estiatorio Milos, a brasserie concept from D&D London and an American Grill concept from Chef Michael Lomonaco. In partnership with Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group, José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup will also debut a new Spanish concept.
NEW YORK CITY — Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) has agreed to acquire Kate Spade & Co. (NYSE: KATE) for $18.50 per share in cash for a total transaction value of $2.4 billion. The acquisition is an important step in Coach’s evolution, according to Victor Luis, CEO of Coach. “Kate Spade has a truly unique and differentiated brand positioning with a broad lifestyle assortment and strong awareness among consumers, especially millennials,” says Luis. “Through this acquisition, we will create the first New York-based house of modern luxury lifestyle brands, defined by authentic, distinctive products and fashion innovation.” Coach expects the combined company to realize $50 million in savings through improved efficiencies, scale, inventory management and supply chain optimization, according to Kevin Wills, CFO of Coach. So far, the deal looks promising for Coach as shares of its stock closed at $45.20 per share on Tuesday, May 9, the highest mark since 2014. Shares of Kate Spade stock also jumped post-announcement, closing at $18.40 on Tuesday, up from $16.97 on Friday, May 5. Yesterday, Goldman Sachs raised Coach’s rating to buy from neutral. BofA Merrill Lynch is providing bridge financing to Coach for the acquisition. Coach plans to pay the $2.4 billion …
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 …
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has negotiated the $100 million sale of a residential development assemblage in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan to the Rockefeller Group. The assemblage includes 170,000 square feet across three contiguous buildings at 30-36 E. 29th St. and includes surrounding air rights. The existing buildings will be razed to make room for a ground-up condominium development with just under 100 feet of frontage on East 29th Street. Eastern Consolidated’s Brian Ezratty represented the three sellers: Extell Development, the owner of 30-32 E. 29th St.; W Brothers, the owner of 34 E. 29th St.; and 29th Street Partners LLC, the owner of 36 E. 29th St. Ezratty and Eastern Consolidated’s Ron Solarz procured the buyer, the Rockefeller Group.
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.
