MARIETTA, PA. — New Jersey-based Goldcrest Properties has acquired a 172-unit apartment complex in Marietta, located southeast of Harrisburg, for $39 million. The property was built in 2020 and offers a clubhouse, fitness center and onsite laundry facilities. Aaron Jungreis and Michelle Jungreis of New York-based Rosewood Realty Group represented Goldcrest Properties as well as the seller, Inch & Co., in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based investment and development firm HAP Investments has received a $76.7 million loan for the refinancing of a portfolio of three multifamily buildings totaling 160 units in East Harlem. The buildings are located at 2338 Second Ave., 329 Pleasant Ave. and 2211 Third Ave. Allegiant Real Estate Capital provided the three-year loan, specific terms of which were not disclosed.
WESTPORT, CONN. — CBRE has negotiated the sale of two medical office buildings and a boutique office building in Westport, located in the southern coastal part of the state, for a combined $19.4 million. Locally based investment firm HB Nitkin purchased the healthcare assets, which were 89 percent leased at the time of sale, while Greenhouse Offices purchased the third property. Jeffrey Dunne, Steven Bardsley, Jeremy Neuer, David Gavin, Richard Gatto, Fahri Ozturk and Travis Langer of CBRE represented the seller, Leifer Properties, in the deals. CBRE also procured the buyer in the first transaction.
PLAINFIELD, N.J. — Locally based brokerage firm The Kislak Co. Inc. has arranged the sale of Stony Brook Gardens, a 70-unit multifamily property located in the Northern New Jersey community of Plainfield. The sales price equates to roughly $250,000 per unit. The two-story, garden-style property was built in 1961. Joni Sweetwood and Julie Gralla of Kislak represented the seller and the buyer, both of which requested anonymity, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based developer L&L Holding Co. has received $911.4 million in financing for 425 Park Avenue, a 47-story office building that is nearing completion in Midtown Manhattan. L&L Holding, which is developing the building in partnership with BentallGreenOak and Tokyu Land Corp., will use the proceeds to retire existing construction debt and fund the final stages of development, including lease-up costs. Global asset management firm Citadel has already committed to roughly half of the space as the 670,000-square-foot building’s anchor tenant. Additional tenants include Wafra Capital Partners, Hellman & Friedman and Medical Properties Trust. Michael Tepedino and Michael Gigliotti of JLL arranged the financing through a consortium of lenders led by Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies.
PHILADELPHIA — Spark Therapeutics, a locally based firm that devises and delivers gene therapy solutions, will open a 500,000-square-foot life sciences facility in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood, a project that represents a $575 million capital investment. The facility will be part of a 1 million-square-foot campus at the intersection of 30th and Chestnut streets. Spark Therapeutics has entered into a 99-year ground lease with Drexel University to develop the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.
CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. — A joint venture between two locally based firms, Cammeby’s International Group and Rybak Development, will build a 499-unit multifamily property on Coney Island. The property, which will house 40,368 square feet of commercial space, will be developed as part of the Neptune/Sixth mixed-use redevelopment. Units will come in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats, with 30 percent of the residences to be designated as affordable housing. Demolition work is underway at the site, and vertical construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2022.
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A partnership between two New Jersey-based firms, KRE Group and Russo Development, has begun leasing Rock Pointe, a 345-unit apartment community in Rockaway Township, located west of New York City in Morris County. Units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and individual washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool, tot lot, walking trails, outdoor grilling areas, fitness center, conference facility, game room, package lockers and a dog park. Rents start at $2,100 per month for a one-bedroom unit. Move-ins are slated to begin in mid-January.
BOSTON — Newmark has brokered the $5.6 million sale of a 9,947-square-foot office and retail building located at 50-52 Broad St. in Boston. The property was originally built in 1853 and is known as The Architectural Building. Robert Griffin, Michael Greeley Joseph, Alvarado, George Demoulas and Casey Valent of Newmark represented the seller in the transaction. Matthew George of Newmark procured the buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
By Taylor Williams Demand for retail and restaurant space in Northern New Jersey has long been buoyed by spillover tenants that find themselves priced out of premium spaces in New York City. Yet despite the fact that retail rents throughout the city have been depressed for the last 18 months, users have not flocked to Manhattan and Brooklyn at the expense of the fringe markets of Northern New Jersey. In fact, brokers in the latter region see a healthy level of demand from a wide range of users that see opportunity in the current conditions. “The closures of national soft goods retailers that were squeezed by reduced demand and supply chain constraints during the height of COVID-19 left some beautifully built-out spaces,” notes Kevin Pelio, director of leasing at Azarian Group. “This has benefitted local and regional operators who can come into a prominent retail location without the capital-intensive, upfront investment typically required in a normal market.” Pelio adds that the larger trend among brick-and-mortar retailers to reduce initial capital outlays and build-out costs has also led to reductions in landlords’ tenant improvement (TI) allowances. Brian Katz, CEO of Englewood, N.J.-based Katz & Associates, concurs that certain retailers are aggressively …