WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — Florida-based developer LNR Partners LLC has sold Lenox Plaza, a 50,000-square-foot retail center in Woodland Park, a northwestern suburb of New York City, to an undisclosed buyer. At the time of sale, the property was 96 percent leased to tenants including Pizza Hut, Party City and Blimpie. The four-building complex was originally built in 1986, and the parking lot was recently renovated in 2018. LNR acquired the property from Azarian Group in 2007 for $20 million. Jacklene Chesler of Colliers International represented LNR Partners in the transaction. The sales price was undisclosed.
SOUTH ORARGE, N.J. — Kislak Co. Inc. has arranged the $11.6 million sale of South Orange Square, a 31,000-square-foot office and retail property located on the western outskirts of New York City. Located at 67-81 S. Orange Ave. and 3-11 Scotland Road, the property includes 21,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 9,000 square feet of second-story office space and 1,000 square feet of storage rooms. At the time of sale, the property was 98 percent leased to tenants including Verizon, Investors Bank and the South Orange Pharmacy. Meridian Capital Group arranged acquisition financing through Spencer Savings Bank on behalf of the undisclosed buyer. Joni Sweetwood of Kislak represented the seller, which was also undisclosed.
MADISON, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $5.8 million sale of a retail building in Madison, a western suburb of New York City. Located at 307 Main St., the 10,011-square-foot building was leased to Starbucks and a dry cleaner at the time of sale. Alan Cafiero, Ben Sgambati, David Cafiero and John Moroz of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were undisclosed limited liability companies.
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has extended a ban on evictions due to nonpayment of rent through August 20 for both residential and commercial tenants that have had difficulties paying rent and preserving their businesses amid the ongoing COVID-19 health and economic crisis. The governor originally issued the executive order banning new cases of rent-related evictions on March 20 with the expectation of keeping it in effect for three months. Additional updates to the executive order include rent relief in the form of bans on late fees for missed payments, as well as a new provision that allows renters to use their security deposit as rent payment. As of May 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nearly 319,000 cases of the virus in New York and more than 25,700 deaths.
WESTBURY, N.Y. — Sanders Equities, a New York-based developer, will convert a retail asset in the Long Island city of Westbury as a 153,000-square-foot industrial building. Located at 1085 Old Country Road, the property is situated on a seven-acre site and includes a 192,000-square-foot building, which is currently occupied by a Century 21 department store. Upon Century 21’s exit in spring 2021, Sanders plans to downsize the property to 153,000 square feet and remove the second floor, which will increase the ceiling height to 32 feet. Paul Leone and Margaret Tutone of CBRE will lead the leasing effort of the new industrial asset. The terms and sales price of the acquisition were undisclosed.
FORT WASHINGTON, PENN. — Equus Capital Partners will develop a 300-unit multifamily project in Fort Washington, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. The developer has acquired a 60,000-square-foot office building located at 1125 Virginia Drive for $5.9 million and plans to demolish it to construct the apartment building in its place. The first phase of construction will include 200 residential units in a five-story building that will incorporate amenities such as a pool and a fitness center, as well as both indoor and outdoor resident lounge areas. Barton Partners designed the project. No plans for the construction schedule have been announced.
TRUMBULL, CONN. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has arranged a 26,600-square-foot office lease for Power Home Remodeling Group in Trumbull, a western suburb of New Haven. The space is located at 60 Commerce Drive, within a 67,000-square-foot building that houses a three-story office building and an adjacent warehouse with a 30-foot ceiling height. Tim Rorick, Torey Walsh and Jack McDermott of NKF represented the owners, CH Commerce Drive Associates LLC and City Park Commerce Drive LLC, in the transaction. Jay Hruska and Brian Scruton of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant.
EVERETT, MASS. — Cornerstone Realty Capital has arranged a $10 million loan for the construction of a 51-unit multifamily project in Everett, a Northern suburb of Boston. A local lender provided the loan at a fixed interest rate, which features 24 months of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. Massachusetts-based developer United Properties Inc. was the borrower. The project, the name of which has yet to be determined, will repurpose an existing three-story brick structure on the property, expanding it to six stories and constructing one-bedroom units that will range between 460 and 895 square feet. Amenities will include an outdoor lounge area with benches and a firepit, a fitness center and a rooftop deck.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI), a Jersey City-based REIT, reports that it collected 96.7 percent of multifamily rent payments due for April at its multifamily properties across the country despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Many multifamily tenants across the country have been unable to work due to temporary business closures and employee layoffs and furloughs, raising questions as to whether they would be able to pay their April rents. Mack-Cali’s 6,524-unit multifamily portfolio, operated by its subsidiary Roseland Residential Trust, was 95.7 percent occupied as of the end of 2019 with an average rent of $3,028 per unit. The company recently opened The Emery at Overlook Ridge, a 140-unit property in Malden, Massachusetts, with 52 percent of units preleased. Including The Emery, Mack-Cali had five multifamily developments totaling 1,942 units under construction at the end of the quarter. The portfolio is located in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Mack-Cali’s stock price closed at $14.82 per share on May 6, compared with $22.92 per share at the same time last year.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — The total number of customer transactions at restaurant chains nationwide showed improvement for the second week in a row during the week ending April 26, according study by The NPD Group (NPD), a market research company headquartered in New York. The study indicated that total customer transactions were down 32 percent for the week ending Sunday, April 26 relative to that time a year ago. Transaction volume had been down 36 percent for the week ending Sunday, April 19, relative to that time in 2019. Most restaurants in the country have been either closed outright or are operating with severe restrictions since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Even as the economy slowly restarts state-by-state, many consumers remain hesitant to return to dining rooms. NPD reported that approximately 20,000 restaurants restarted in Georgia on April 27, followed by 60,000 in Texas, with both states enforcing strict guidelines for reduced occupancy and heightened sanitation. While more than 300,000 restaurants may potentially reopen for dine-in service in the coming weeks, NPD notes that an unknown number of restaurants may not be able to afford to ever open again. In New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus in the Northeast, restaurants …