Middle Market Digest – The Northeast

Here is a roundup of the latest leases, sales and other transactions in the Northeast middle markets.

Deal Tracker Daily

NEW YORK, NY–Savills Studley arranged a seven-year, 25,000 square-foot sublease for national full-service law firm Greenspoon Marder on the 18^th floor of 590 Madison Avenue, a trophy building in the heart of the prestigious Plaza District at 57^th Street. The sublease commences in the 1st quarter of 2017. The law firm expects to relocate from its 18,000 square-foot space at 1270 Avenue of the Americas in March.

RUTHERFORD, NJ—Newmark Grubb Knight Frank completed a new lease for FORT Group, a marketing communications firm, at 100 Challenger Road in Ridgefield Park, NJ. NGKF Executive managing director Frank D. Recine and director Brendan McBride represented the tenant in its relocation to 11,500 square feet on the seventhfloor of the building. Dan Lessing of DSR Group, LLC represented the landlord, KABR, in the transaction.

BOSTON, MA—Hackman Capital Partners and Calare Properties have sold 10 properties, primarily warehouse-distribution facilities, to Winstanley Enterprises. The properties, which total more than 2.9 million square feet, are located primarily in northern Connecticut and Southern Massachusetts. The seller is a joint venture formed by Hackman Capital Partners, Calare Properties and KBS Real Estate Investment Trust.

BRIDGEPORT, CT—Colliers International represented COWI North America in an 8,204-square-foot lease at 1000 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport, CT. The bridge, tunnel and marine engineering consulting group will relocate its regional operation to the downtown property from a suburban office campus in nearby Trumbull, CTs.

PITTSBURGH, PA—Shorenstein Properties has engaged Eurest, a $1.4 billion food and vending division of Compass Group North America, to bring restaurants and retailers that will form Oxford Market, a cutting edge food market inside of One Oxford Centre in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The marketplace is expected to open in summer 2017 and will cater to both residents and downtown commuters looking for a variety of fresh, high quality and affordable meal choices.

BOSTON, MA—Columbia Property Trust completed a $10 million reimagining and modernization of 116 Huntington Avenue, a 271,000-square-foot class-A office property in Boston’s historic Back Bay district. The extensive renovation of the lobby, terraces, and exterior was led for Columbia by Shawmut Design and Construction, with architect and interior designer Dyer Brown and project manager Redgate.

NEW YORK, NY—Eastern Consolidated has arranged the sale of a two-story retail building at 7 East 53rd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues occupied under a NN lease by established global bakery/restaurant brand Le Pain Quotidien. The property traded for $15.25 million. Eastern Consolidated Vice Chairman and Principal Brian Ezratty and Director Evan Papanastasiou, represented the seller, Bank of the Philippines, and Ezratty procured the buyer, BLDG Management Co. Scott Ellard, Principal and Vice President, Financial and Information Services, served as the analyst.

WILLINGBORO, NJ—Merola Tile Group acquired 49 Ironside Court, an 82,000-square-foot facility in Willingboro, NJ through Sheldon Gross Realty. The acquisition of was brokered by Jonathan Glick, a Sheldon Gross executive vice president. Utilized previously by a third-party logistics provider, the building now will become Merola Tile Group’s third location.  From it, the company will distribute Merola Tile, SomerTile, and other branded products throughout the northeast.

SWEDESBORO, NJ—510 Heron Drive in Swedesboro has sold for $3.52 million, in an early January sale orchestrated by the Parsippany, NJ office of Colliers International. Amerco Real Estate Company, an affiliate of U-Haul, purchased the three, multi-tenant flex buildings, comprised of 126,251-square-feet, from Starwood Property Trust, with LNR Property LLC as Manager. The investment sales team lead by Jacklene Chesler, senior managing director, advised the seller and secured the buyer for 510 Heron Drive. The marketing team included Jonathan Schlussel, Evan Zweben and Christina Del Duca.

Money Moves

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler arranged permanent financing for the retail portion of Rodin Square, a 79,233-square-foot, newly-built, fully-leased, grocery-anchored mixed-use property in Philadelphia’s City Center area. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Rodin Group and Benenson Capital Partners, to secure the 20-year, fixed-rate non-recourse loan through Principal Real Estate Investors. Rodin Square is a mixed-use development anchored by Whole Foods Market, with the remaining 31 percent split between Thomas Jefferson Hospital, CVS Pharmacy, and Santander Bank.  The tenants have long lease terms ranging from 10 to 30 years.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Rubenstein Partners announced the final closing of Rubenstein Properties Fund III. This is the third institutional real estate investment vehicle advised by Rubenstein Partners. The discretionary real estate private equity fund raised a total of $565 million in capital commitments from a diverse group of investors, including some of the nation’s preeminent public and private pension funds, university endowments and family offices.

BROOKLYN, NY—S3 Capital has arranged a $12.5 million construction loan for two parcels located on Bedford Avenue in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The property is a new ground-up development of 38 residential units and a community facility.

FLORHAM PARK, NJ—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler has been named by Mack-Cali Realty Corporation to market for sale a 26-building, 1.2 million-square-foot office/flex portfolio in Moorestown and Burlington Townships, NJ. The properties are being sold free and clear of any mortgage financing. The portfolio includes 24 buildings in Moorestown and two buildings in Burlington Township that are 91 percent leased overall.  The HFF investment sales team representing the seller is led by senior managing directors Jose Cruz and Doug Rodio, managing director Brett Segal and associate director Marc Duval.