Share

Gramercy Property Trust sells twin Jersey City office buildings for $299M

In the biggest New Jersey sale of 2016 so far, Gramercy Property Trust has sold twin Jersey City off

In the biggest New Jersey sale of 2016 so far, Gramercy Property Trust has sold twin Jersey City office buildings to Spear Street Capital for $299 million.

70 & 90 Hudson Street

Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale of 70 & 90 Hudson Street, class A office buildings on the Jersey City waterfront.

The firm’s East Rutherford, N.J.-based Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group team of Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer, Kyle Schmidt and Andrew MacDonald handled the transaction. The combined buildings total nearly 858,000 square feet.

“These are unique, irreplaceable assets, and this transaction is clearly the most significant deal to date in 2016,” said Merin, who noted that his team had orchestrated a previous sale of the properties in 2011.

The 409,272 s/f, 12-story 70 Hudson Street, constructed in 2000, is currently vacant after the recent departure of full-building tenant, Barclay’s.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Lowe, Edward Duenas and Jim McCaffrey are handling the leasing assignment.

“This is the only office availability greater than 200,000 s/f and the largest contiguous availability along the Hudson Waterfront,” said Merin.  “The new ownership will be able to capitalize on the market’s strong leasing momentum and cyclically improving rents compared to Manhattan.”

The adjoining 12-story, 448,668 s/f 90 Hudson Street was fully occupied at the time of sale, with the investment management firm Lord, Abbett & Co. occupying 272,127 s/f, utilizing the site as its headquarters. Charles Komar & Sons, a design, marketing, sourcing and apparel distribution firm, is occupying 159,141 s/f.

“With its long-term leases and contractual rent steps, 90 Hudson Street offers increasing bond-type returns,” said Merin.

The sale marks a premier transaction in a Hudson Waterfront office market totaling more than 21.5 million square feet, New Jersey’s largest and fastest growing submarket.

Demand drivers include proximity to Manhattan, with 70 & 90 Hudson Street just steps away from PATH train, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and New York Waterway ferry service providing direct access to Downtown and Midtown Manhattan. The market has also benefited from the New Jersey Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, a program designed to create and retain jobs in the state.

Source: Real Estate Weekly