The commercial real estate market in Fairfield County reflects the issues affecting the greater national economy. Due to the fundamentals of commercial real estate and how the marketplace functions, the region will be in a state of malaise for the foreseeable future. The marketplace has bottomed, however, and will improve over time. From 2005 through mid 2008, employment was increasing, companies were expanding; there was competition to put money to work through loans and investments. Capital formation grew at a torrid pace as the national capitalistic system sought higher and higher returns in a market where the risk seemed to diminish each month. As that feel-good locomotive hit the wall in 2008, there were tremendous lay-offs and all capital sources that had been pushing money at the real estate asset class evaporated. In the first three quarters of 2009, tenants stopped conducting real estate business almost altogether. Even tenants driven by lease expirations often opted for short-term renewals due to the cataclysmic uncertainties that decision makers were facing. Additionally, tenant renewals were driven by give-backs of space as companies needed less space due to fewer employees. Companies took space proactively in 2007 because they anticipated hiring more employees, but they …
EDISON, N.J. — Italian food distributor Colavita USA has acquired an Edison industrial facility for its new headquarters. The 179,680-square-foot facility is located on 10.96 acres at One Runyons Lane. It features 27-foot ceilings, 40-foot by 35-foot column spacing, 14 truck doors, two drive-in bays and 36,205 square feet of office space. Colavita will be relocating to the property from Linden, N.J. Gary Capetta of Pantheon Properties represented Colavita in the deal. The Jones Lang LaSalle team of Joel Lubin and Chuck Fern represented the seller, GUND, a toy manufacturer. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Moore & Maltby Associates has purchased a 29,000-square-foot warehouse located in the South Bronx for $3.2 million. The property contains 30-foot ceilings and two indoor cranes. Michael Rao and Frank Rao of New York Commercial Realty Group represented the buyer. Eitan Agbashoff of City One Real Estate represented the undisclosed seller.
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — Terranova Bakeries has purchased a 26,071-square-foot bakery facility at 535 S. Fourth Ave. in Mount Vernon for $1.8 million. Nicholas Morizio of the Hartford, Conn., office of Colliers International represented the buyer. The seller's name was not released.
MCCANDLESS, PA. — A new hotel will be coming to McCandless Crossing, a 130-acre mixed-use project located in McCandless Township. AdVenture Development, the project's developer, signed a contract for the sale of 3.58 acres to Widewaters McCandless LLC. The company plans to construct a 121-room Hilton Homewood Suites on the site, which is situated on the west side of McKinght Road. L.A. Fitness also recently closed on a land purchase within the mixed-use development.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Construction is advancing for a $150 million transit-oriented project in New Jersey. New Brunswick Gateway Transit Village is a 24-story, 632,000-square-foot mixed-use building that is being constructed at the intersection of Somerset Street and Easton Avenue, across the street from Rutgers University and adjacent to the New Brunswick train station. Upon completion, which will occur in June 2012, the building will contain a 14-story residential tower atop a 10-story parking garage that will be wrapped with commercial space. The residential component will contain 192 unit in a mix of 150 apartments and 42 condominiums. The units will sit atop a 657-space parking garage. At the lower levels will also be more than 120,000 square feet of office space and 58,000 square feet of destination retail. A pedestrian bridge with a large, iconic clock will link the Rutgers campus directly with the train platform. Barnes & Noble College Bookstore for Rutgers, the New Brunswick Parking Authority and Rutgers University Press have already signed on at the project. The development team includes the New Brunswick Development Corp. and Pennrose Properties. The project architect is Meltzer/Mandl Architects.
MONROEVILLE, PA. — Brick, N.J.-based Tryko Partners has acquired a 436-unit apartment community in Monroeville from CEW Partners for $14 million. Fox Hill Apartments is situated on 28 acres on Fox Hill Drive. It contains a mix of one- through three-bedroom units in four brick buildings. Amenities include a swimming pool, a tennis court, a playground, a community room and guest suites. Occupancy was 78 percent at the time of closing. Tryko plans to immediately renovate the common areas and vacant units and renovate all units within the next three years. A fitness center and business center will also be added. Michael Liguori of Langholz Wilson Ellis represented both parties in the sale.
NEW YORK CITY — Paris-based Louzon Group has acquired a three-story commercial building located at 347-349 Bowery in New York City's East Village from the Salvation Army for $7.6 million. The investment group plans to demolish the building and construct a 72-room boutique hotel with a Parisian restaurant on the site. Alan Miller and Robert Ortiz of Eastern Consolidated represented the buyer, and Jonathan Plotkin of Colliers International represented the seller.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Cole Real Estate Investments has purchased a Class A office property in Buffalo from Duke Realty Corp. for $84.5 million. The property comprises a six-story tower and an eight-story tower connected by a seven-story atrium. It has LEED-Silver certification and contains 1,600 parking spaces. It was constructed in 2007 and 2008 as a build-to-suit for HealthNow New York, which operates as BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and BlueShield of Northeastern New York. The tenant has 13.5 years remaining on its lease with four 5-year renewal options. Boyd Messmann provided in-house representation for Cole. Joe Garibaldi of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the seller, with additional assistance provided in-house by Duke's Whit Annibali.
ALLSTON, MASS. — The Mount Vernon Company has purchased a 40,000-square-foot site on Griggs Street in the west Boston town of Allston for $4.8 million to develop a new multifamily community. The developer will construct a five-story building containing 100 studio and one-bedroom apartments. Units will be as large as 1,000 square feet and amenities will include a rooftop deck, a security desk, a fireplace-lit lobby and 101 on-site parking spaces. The $23 million project will be near the intersection of Griggs Street and Commonwealth Avenue, adjacent to a 150-unit property Mount Vernon already owns. The project architect is The Architectural Team. The seller in the land deal was Leggat McCall.