TOTOWA, N.J. — Total Wine & More has opened a 32,000-square-foot store at Totowa Square, a 258,000-square-foot retail power center in Northern New Jersey. The retailer is backfilling a space formerly occupied by Babies ‘R’ Us. Brian Katz and Amy Staats of Katz & Associates represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. Brian Schuster of Ripco Real Estate represented the tenant.
By Jason Penighetti, attorney, Koeppel Martone & Leistman LLC In a far-reaching decision, New York’s highest court has affirmed the rights of tenants under a commercial net lease to protest assessments and reduce their real property tax burden. The ruling reversed a State Supreme Court dismissal of a petition on the grounds that only a property’s owner can file an administrative grievance with the Board of Assessment Review. In a net lease, the tenant is responsible for paying real estate taxes and other expenses stated in the lease. In the matter of DCH Auto vs. Town of Mamaroneck, the Court of Appeals in June 2022 published a unanimous decision stating that tenants contractually obligated to pay real estate taxes and authorized to protest assessments may file tax appeals even when they do not hold title to the underlying real estate. Restoring a Precedent DCH Auto operated a car dealership in a net leased property in Mamaroneck, New York. Its lease with the owner required DCH to pay the property’s real estate taxes in addition to rent. Commercial tenants with this type of lease commonly file tax appeals to correct excessive tax bills and mitigate operating costs. These occupiers include retailers …
BOSTON — A partnership between Lendlease and Ivanhoe Cambridge has broken ground on a $500 million life sciences project within Boston Landing, a mixed-use destination in the Allston/Brighton area. The nine-story, 350,000-square-foot building at 60 Guest St. will be branded FORUM and will feature traditional office space in addition to lab and research/development space. SGA Architects is designing the project, and Consigli Construction Co. is serving as the general contractor. Completion is slated for 2024. The partnership first acquired the land for the project from NB Development Group, the master developer of Boston Landing, in March 2021.
NEWARK, DEL. — Atlantic Realty Cos., a Virginia-based development, investment and brokerage firm, has sold a 145,400-square-foot shopping center located at 230 E. Main St. in Newark for $33.5 million. Built in 1955 and renovated in 2017, the center was 93 percent leased at the time of sale to a roster of 31 tenants, with grocer Newark Natural Foods and Main Street Movies 5 serving as the anchors. Other retailers and restaurants include PNC Bank, Wing Stop, Dollar Tree, Goodwill, T-Mobile and Tropical Smoothie Café. Gil Neuman of Neuman Commercial Group represented Atlantic Realty in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — New York-based general contractor EW Howell Construction Group has completed PS 464, an elementary school in Manhattan’s Financial District. The school occupies 92,000 square feet across the first nine floors within 42 Trinity Place, a 40-story residential building, and serves students in grades pre-K through 5. In addition, the school’s south wing comprises four stories in the Robert & Anne Dickey House, a renovated historical building. In addition to new classrooms, the school features a science lab, art and music room, gymnasium, cafeteria and two outdoor playgrounds.
LAKEWOOD, N.J. — New Jersey-based brokerage firm Sitar Realty Co. has negotiated the $7.7 million sale of a 38,762-square-foot warehouse in Lakewood, about 70 miles northeast of Philadelphia. The two-story building sits on 3.5 acres. Manasquan Bank sold the property to a locally based limited liability company. Douglas Sitar and Robert JanTausch of Sitar Realty brokered the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Five Iron Golf will open a 30,000-square-foot entertainment center at 101 Park Ave. in Manhattan. The space will house the concept’s signature golf simulators, widescreen TVs, leisure games and a full-service restaurant and bar. Anthony Dattoma of CBRE and Jason Goode of Compass Real Estate represented Five Iron Golf in the lease negotiations. John Cefaly and Nicholas Dysenchuk of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, H.J. Kalikow & Co. A tentative opening date was not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — French investment bank Natixis has provided a $150 million loan for the refinancing of LVL North, a 410-unit apartment community located just north of downtown Philadelphia at 510 Broad St. The property includes 108,000 square feet of commercial space that is anchored by grocer Giant. Kelly Gaines, Chad Orcutt and Blaine Fleming of JLL arranged the five-year, floating-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, Philadelphia-based Alterra Property Group.
BURLINGTON, MASS. — Locally based investment firm FoxRock Properties has acquired 1 Van de Graaff Drive, a 157,229-square-foot office complex located in the northern Boston suburb of Burlington. The property, which was 73 percent leased at the time of sale, offers a cafeteria and a fitness center. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and Samantha Hallowell of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. The sales price was also not disclosed.
WORCESTER, MASS. — CBRE has brokered the sale of a multifamily development site in the central Massachusetts city of Worcester that is approved for the construction of 210 market-rate units. Plans currently call for a five-story building to be constructed over a double podium parking garage. Simon Butler, Biria St. John and John McLaughlin of CBRE represented the seller, a limited liability company, and procured the buyer, an affiliate of metro Boston-based SMC Management Corp., in the transaction.