ORANGE, N.J. — Locally based brokerage firm The Kislak Co. Inc. has negotiated the $1.4 million sale of a 12-unit apartment building located at 153 Pierson St. in the Northern New Jersey community of Orange. According to Apartments.com, the building was originally constructed in 1896 and offers one-bedroom units. Julie Gralla of Kislak represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were limited liability companies, in the deal.
By Taylor Williams No matter your size, market and scope of operation, for retail owners and operators, there is no such thing as total immunity from the likes of e-commerce, COVID-19, inflation and interest rate hikes. But there is such a thing as absorbing those socioeconomic hits in stride, learning and evolving from them and re-emerging on significantly more solid ground. And that is largely the path that the Philadelphia retail market has traversed over the past few years. The timing of the pandemic dismantled the launch of Fashion District, the redevelopment of the former Gallery at Market East Mall that should have ushered in a new scene of experience-based, locally merchandised retail in Philadelphia. Retailers and restaurants along Center City District’s main shopping corridors quickly devised solutions to the global healthcare crisis and were returning to normalcy when bad timing once again intervened. This time, it took the form of the Delta variant, which delayed plans to reopen existing stores or launch new ones and erased some of the positive momentum that landlords and tenants had recouped. For their part, suburban retail properties, many of whose performances were bolstered in the short run by pandemic- driven population influxes, are …
No one in the multifamily sector needs a lecture on the difficulty of financing projects and deals these days. But, when there are challenges in the market, attention to detail and alternative financing can result in a better chance of finding solutions. Considering life insurance companies as viable investors is one example. Insurers often can provide needed liquidity as they search for yield, especially in the multifamily world. Multifamily fell to the same forces that have affected every other commercial real estate (CRE) class. After a buildup of easy money over more than a decade, the zero-interest rate policy in response to the pandemic collapse set asset investment on fire. Prices soared, opportunities were widespread and big leverage was in. “Starting in 2019/2020, you saw a lot of floating-rate bridge money,” says Susan Mello, executive vice president and group head of capital markets at Walker & Dunlop. But as loans came up for refinancing, quick and large Federal Reserve hikes of the benchmark federal funds rate kicked up loan costs everywhere and made penciling a deal difficult, if not impossible. “The rapid rise of interest rates put values in question across the board. That’s exacerbated by how much liquidity there …
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based development and investment firm Sage Realty has completed a $53 million renovation project at 767 Third Avenue, a 40-story, 320,000-square-foot building in Manhattan’s Grand Central Business District. The renovation upgraded the lobby and seventh-floor amenity space, which includes a café/bar, lounge, library, boardroom, salon meeting room, catering kitchen and a sculpture garden. FXCollaborative handled the design of the lobby renovation, and Fogarty Finger led the revamp of the amenity floor.
BOOTHWYN, PA. — JLL has brokered the sale of Larkin’s Corner, a 225,214-square-foot retail center located in Boothwyn, located near the Pennsylvania-Delaware border. Acme Grocery and Walmart anchor the property, which was 99 percent leased at the time of sale. Other tenants at the center include McDonald’s, TD Bank and Dollar Tree. Chris Munley, Jim Galbally, Colin Behr, James Graf and Patrick Higgins of JLL represented the seller, Site Centers, in the transaction. The team also procured the undisclosed buyer.
LANGHORNE, PA. — A partnership between regional developer Greek Real Estate Partners and Principal Asset Management has delivered Langhorne Logistics Center, a 210,564-square-foot industrial project located about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia. The partnership acquired the 19-acre site, which at the time housed two buildings that were constructed in 1980, in 2006. The partnership expanded the first of the two buildings by 60,000 square feet in 2008 and recently demolished the second building to make way for Langhorne Logistics Center. The new facility features a clear height of 40 feet, two drive-in doors, 80 trailer parking stalls and 209 car parking spaces.
PASSAIC, N.J. — Locally based brokerage firm The Kislak Co. Inc. has negotiated the $2.5 million sale of a 23-unit apartment building located at 60 Dayton St. in the Northern New Jersey community of Passaic. According to LoopNet Inc., the building, which houses a restaurant on the ground floor, rises three stories and was constructed in 1975. Julie Gralla of Kislak represented the seller, an entity doing business as Hobart Dayton Proud Passaic LLC, in the transaction. Gralla also procured the buyer, Bonim Realty LLC.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Tiger Woods, Justin Timberlake, NEXUS Luxury Collection and 8AM Golf have opened a 22,000-square-foot sports and entertainment bar between Bryant Park and Grand Central Station in Manhattan. Dubbed T-Squared Social, the venue offers an array of golf simulators, duckpin bowling and darts, as well as food and drink. ForrestPerkins designed the space, which features 24-foot open ceilings, a 32-foot bar, dining and lounge areas and a private event room.
PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between New York City-based developer The Gotham Organization and locally based REIT Brandywine Realty Trust have begun welcoming the first residents to Avira, a 326-unit multifamily project in Philadelphia. Residences were constructed atop the 570,000-square-foot mixed-use building at 3025 JFK Blvd. within Brandywine’s Schuylkill Yards development. Units come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and are housed within the building’s top 18 floors. The property also features 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space, 9,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of office and life sciences space, 120 structured parking spaces and a 7,500-square-foot park. Rents start at $2,025 per month for a studio apartment.
MONTVALE, N.J. — JLL has brokered the $14.7 million sale of a 119,089-square-foot office building in the Northern New Jersey community of Montvale. The two-story building sits on a 16.5-acre site at 5 Paragon Drive and houses amenities such as a cafeteria and a fitness center. Jeremy Neuer, Jose Cruz and Kevin O’Hearn of JLL represented the seller, Dallas-based Nessel Development, in the transaction. The buyer was Exclusive Management, an investment firm based in New York’s Hudson Valley region. The building was 76 percent leased at the time of sale.