Middle Market Digest – The Northeast

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

This week by the numbers

RentCafé looked at the the distribution between fully-affordable and partially-affordable buildings, completed and under construction, both at national and metro level and checked the grading of their location. The study found that at a national level, only 42 percent of the existing U.S. stock of affordable apartments is located in high-opportunity locations (A and B-rated); the remaining 58 percent is located in low-opportunity neighborhoods (C and D-rated locations). In Philadelphia, unfortunately, the scales of the fully-affordable stock tip in favor of lower-opportunity neighborhoods: 45 percent of fully-affordable buildings are in A and B-rated locations, and 55 percent in C and D-rated areas. However, of all the partially-affordable units available and under construction, 39 percent can be found in “good” neighborhoods. As for what the future holds regarding partially-affordable housing, it looks like only 23 percent will be located in B-rated areas, while the remainder 77 percent will be developed in C-rated locations.

Deal Tracker Daily

HACKENSACK, NJ—Cushman & Wakefield’s Morristown Office reported more than 50,000 square feet in new leases and expansions at 3 University Plaza in 2016. Activity during 2016 included two new tenants as well as a number of expansions. Bergen’s Promise, a care management organization, took 16,263 square feet in a move from Rochelle Park while Brainsway, an international, publicly traded medical device company, leased 2,380 square feet. Total Bank Solutions, a technology firm serving banking intermediaries, added 11,723 square feet and now occupies 21,595 square feet, senior health and homecare provider Confident Care extended on 5,089 square feet, and TIAA, a financial services organization and retirement provider, extended its lease of 6,599 square feet.

ORANGE, NJ—Development partners Ironstate Development Company and The Alpert Group recently broke ground for Harvard Printing, a new rental community near NJ TRANSIT’s Highland Avenue train station that will deliver 128 residences and a renewed vitality to the Valley neighborhood of Orange, just steps from the West Orange border. The Harvard Printing project includes both the construction of a four-story building that will house 70 affordable rental units and 58 market rate rental units, and the adaptive reuse of a historic art deco building that will be crafted into a 160-car parking deck. The residential building will offer 99 one-bedroom residences, 21 two-bedroom apartments and 8 three-bedroom residences.

PARSIPPANY AND CHATHAM, NJ—NAI James E. Hanson negotiated two leases in Morris County, NJ, at 343 Walsh Drive in Parsippany, a 27,169-square-foot industrial building in the Fox Hill Industrial Park,  and 13 Watchung Avenue in Chatham (pictured), 8,908-square-foot flex property, of which Allied Innovative Systems has leased 1,560 square feet of office space to house its healthcare research and development company. NAI Hanson’s Scott K. Perkins, SIOR and Chris Todd represented the landlord at 343 Walsh, Cranberry Realty, and Thomas W. Ryan represented, 13 Watchung Avenue, LLC, the landlord at 13 Watchung Avenue.

JENKINS TOWNSHIP, PA— Apollo Flow Controls will consolidate Northeast U.S. distribution operations for three of its affiliates into a building recently constructed by Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services in CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park East, Jenkins Township, PA. The project will consolidate distribution operations for Apollo Valves, Elkhart Products Corporation and LASCO Fittings, Inc., which will distribute products from a 232,500 square foot building constructed on speculation by Mericle at 500 Keystone Avenue. LASCO Fittings has been a tenant of Mericle’s in the Hanover Industrial Estates since 2003.

HANOVER, PA—New York-based Sky Management Service has acquired a 290,000 square-foot, single-tenant manufacturing facility located in Hanover, PA.  The property, situated on approximately 40 acres, serves as a manufacturing facility for SKF USA. The property was purchased from SKF’s pension fund.

WALPOLE, MA—Waldman & Associates says it has brought the 400,000 square-foot Walpole Mall in Walpole, Mass., to 100% occupancy for the first time in 30 years. Waldman got the mall’s exclusive broker listing in 2015. Today’s tenant mix includes 14 in-line ‘power mall’ big box tenants, 14 interior tenants such as GNC and Keystone Jewelry, and 13 pad tenants including Panera, Five Guys, Aspen Dental, and Great Clips.

GREENWICH, CT—Urstadt Biddle Properties has acquired a portfolio of four retail properties located in Fairfield County, CT, that includes High Ridge Shopping Center, an 87,300 square-foot shopping center located on High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT; a free-standing 4,200 square-foot building leased to Chase Bank with a drive-thru located on High Ridge Road, just south of High Ridge Shopping Center; a free-standing 8,000 square-foot building leased to CVS located on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich, CT; and a free-standing 12,000 square-foot building leased to Walgreens located on Stratfield Road in Fairfield, CT. The transaction was structured as a “DownREIT partnership” whereby the seller received a combination of cash and operating partnership units in a new entity formed to purchase the portfolio, other than the Fairfield property, which was purchased in a simultaneous all cash transaction. Urstadt Biddle Properties is the Managing Member of the newly formed entity and will manage and lease the portfolio.

Money Moves

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Mike McCurdy has joined Cushman & Wakefield as Managing Principal for the firm’s Philadelphia Regional offices, including Central PA, the Delaware Valley, and Southern New Jersey, bringing more than 25-years’ experience and his track record of growing businesses to the firm. John Derham, who has successfully led the firm’s Philadelphia operations for the past 16 years, and been with Cushman & Wakefield for 20 years, has decided to step down, effective March 28.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Rittenhouse Realty Advisors and Rittenhouse Capital Advisors are pleased to announce new additions to their teams for 2017. Nabila Nanji (pictured) has joined Rittenhouse Realty Advisors as a Marketing Specialist, bringing with her ten years of commercial real estate experience, including investment sales, retail leasing, and marketing. Sam Oropeza is directing business development and client management. Sam works with local developers and property owners in the Philadelphia MSA to assist them in achieving their goals for their projects and portfolios.

MORRIS PLAINS, NJ—Mark Calabro has been named vice president of acquisitions at Weichert Development Company. Calabro will be responsible for all aspects of land development and acquisitions, including planning and research, site selection, due diligence review, managing entitlements, negotiations and contracting. Calabro has spent more than 20 years at Weichert, having most recently held the position of senior vice president for Weichert Commercial Brokerage, where he worked with clients searching for residential and commercial development opportunities and also represented private and public landowners as their exclusive agent.

EDISON, NJ—Bussel Realty Corp. expanded its industrial brokerage division with several new hires joining the company.  Eduard Skutelsky joins as a vice president specializing in the Ports-related markets and other Northern/Central New Jersey industrial markets; Ilan Tabbouche joins as an Associateworking with industrial brokerage teams in the Edison, NJ office.

HACKENSACK, NJ—Thanks to the financial support of the Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation, the HackensackUMC Foundation recently celebrated the grand reopening of the newly refurbished “Suites on Second Street” at the Audrey Hepburn Children’s House  at HackensackUMC.  The renovated and expanded suites provide a “home away from home” for families of pediatric patients undergoing treatment at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at HackensackUMC, a member of the Hackensack Meridian Health family. Also lending financial support to the project were the Congregation Ahavath Torah of Englewood, and family and friends of the Poupko family. The Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation also was responsible for the design and construction of the renovated suites.