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

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Haub School of Business’s real estate finance program at St. Joseph’s University has conducted its first Real Estate and Construction Survey of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The report, which is based on a survey of local professionals in various real estate fields, contains 2016 year-end results as well as expectations for the upcoming year. The survey’s 117 respondents included real estate agents to construction specialists, property owners, bankers, project managers and more, representing 134 professions in 10 areas of commercial real estate in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. Significant findings from the Real Estate and Construction Survey Report include: 80 percent of respondents indicated that their business increased in 2016. Only three percent said business had decreased. 100 percent reported an increase in hiring in 2016. 59 percent said that they expect business to increase again in 2017. Respondents agreed that the top strategic opportunities in the Philadelphia real estate market are infrastructure, tax abatement and the millennial market.

Deal Tracker Daily

PATCHOGUE, NY—Irish restaurant and pub James Joyce has signed a 4,200-square-foot lease at 35-71 South Ocean Ave., a 23,000-square-foot retail property in downtown Patchogue. Levin Management Corporation, exclusive leasing and managing agent for 35-71 South Ocean Ave., orchestrated the long-term lease. The restaurant’s menu will blend classic Irish fare with American favorites, according to E.J. Moawad, LMC’s leasing representative for the property

HACKENSACK, NJ—Alexander Anderson Real Estate Group is the leasing agent for 200 Wanaque Avenue in Pompton Lakes, NJ, and will market space in the 29,250-square-foot class B office building to small businesses that are looking for blocks of space suited to their needs.  The office space located in Pompton Plaza, which has been developed as an incubator property within Pompton Lakes’ downtown redevelopment zone, offers flexible lease terms, below-market rent, blocks of space that range from 525 square feet to 6,000 square feet, shared offices services, as well as other incentives to start-up and small business owners and operators in need of space to launch and run their business.

PHILADELPHIA, April PA—PREIT held a grand opening of LEGOLAND® Discovery Center Philadelphia, an indoor family-friendly LEGO® play experience, at Plymouth Meeting Mall. The first-to-market attraction is also a first-to-portfolio tenant for PREIT, illustrating its strategy of revolutionizing the shopping experience for consumers. With a focus on family-friendly entertainment, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia reinforces Plymouth Meeting Mall’s transformation into a lifestyle destination in the Greater Philadelphia region. Currently 17 percent of PREIT’s retail space is committed to dining and entertainment tenants, such as LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

AVALON, NJ—CBRE arranged a 1,000 square-foot long-term lease for American Resortwear brand Lilly Pulitzer, at 2009 Dune Drive in Avalon, NJ. This is the first Jersey Shore-area location for the brand and is their third store to open this year. CBRE’s Colin Behr, in conjunction with Corinne Kotila of MKJ Advisors, negotiated on behalf of the Tenant. The building is owned by 2005 Dune Drive.

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ—Woodmont Properties, one of the region’s leading residential and commercial real estate developers, today announced that it has commenced construction of Woodmont Cove at South Amboy, a new, transit-oriented luxury rental community on the Raritan Bay in Middlesex County, NJ. Woodmont Cove is only a seven-block walk to South Amboy NJ Transit train station, which provides a 30-minute ride to Newark Penn Station and a 51-minute train ride to New York City. Woodmont Cove will feature 106 two-story, townhouse style apartments with garage parking and 20 apartment flats located in an elevator-served building, designed to cater to the modern renter.

YONKERS, NY—The Blau & Berg Company announced the availability of a 4.5-acre development opportunity located at 630 Central Park in Yonkers, NY.  Situated along the Hudson River adjacent to New York City’s northern border, Yonkers is the fourth largest city in New York State and the largest in Westchester County. The 4.5-acre property at 630 Central Park is located between exits 3 and 4 off the New York State Thruway, 3 miles from downtown Yonkers, one block from the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, two blocks from Cross County Shopping Center and minutes from Ridge Hill Mall and the George Washington Bridge.  The property is also 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan and offers easy access to Connecticut.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Colliers International arranged the sale of a multi-building, 5.5 acre retail parcel located at 5202 Baltimore Pike, Delaware County, Springfield PA, aka “The Golden Mile” for $7.425 million. The property, situated on a signalized corner at Baltimore Pike and Oak Avenue, was sold to BET Investments by Burlington Stores, Inc. The site will be redeveloped for retail uses. The Colliers retail team of Todd Sussman and Josh Goldfine represented Burlington Stores; and Colliers’ Rich Weitzman represented BET Investments.

Money Moves

TREVOSE, PA—Metropolitan Capital Advisors and AMA Financial arranged both the debt and equity for the acquisition of Northbrook Corporate Center in Trevose, PA. MCA and AMA (based in Pennsylvania), both members of the Real Estate Capital Alliance, teamed up to facilitate the financing on behalf of a partnership sponsored by Red River Asset Management. Northbrook is a 107,700 square foot class A office building. The business plan is to renew and extend the major tenants, renovate common areas, and lease up the few remaining vacant suites. The acquisition loan was funded by Prime Finance, which included a future funding component to execute the business plan. The equity partner, Advalurem Group, is a New York-based private investment firm focused on “middle market assets”.  Scott Lynn, Founding Principal of MCA, and Gregg Wallace, President of AMA, were responsible for arranging the financing.

HACKENSACK, NJ—NAI James E. Hanson says Brian Donahue will join its Hackensack office as a Sales Associate. Donahue will work with NAI Hanson’s Tom Vetter, SIOR, and Jeff DeMagistris, SIOR, on sales and leasing focusing on the Meadowlands industrial market. Before joining NAI Hanson, Donahue was a commodities trade support associate with Morgan Stanley in Purchase, NY. He also held positions with New York Life Insurance Company and Allstate Insurance Company.  Hanson marked a highly successful 2016 with the announcement of its winners at their annual recognition dinner in which the firm honors its employees’ professional achievements from the previous calendar year. The firm closed 260 transactions representing 5.3 million square feet and $400 million in total value. NAI Hanson’s property management division also saw substantial growth managing 6.3 million square feet of space.

ALBANY, NY—The Solomon Organization, owner and manager of more than 13,000 apartment units in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Michigan, named Ryan Henderson Regional Manager of its 3,000-unit Greater Albany-area portfolio. He was previously the Community Manager at Somerset Park Apartments in Troy, MI.  Additionally, Tanya Newman has been promoted from Administrative Assistant to the Community Manager at the 312-unit London Square community, and Cara Franco-House will remain the Bookkeeper while taking on additional responsibilities as Administrative Assistant for the Albany Corporate Office.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—John K. Binswanger, Vice Chairman of Binswanger Company, the Philadelphia-based international commercial real estate company, and longtime supporter of Philadelphia civic activities, will receive the inaugural Founders Award from the nonprofit Philadelphia Police Foundation at its “A Night for Blue” event on Tuesday, April 25. Binswanger, a founding member of the Philadelphia Police Foundation in 1999, has been and continues to be a strong and active supporter of the Philadelphia Police Department and its personnel. He currently sits on the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

 Correction, 4/11/2017, 4:01 p.m.: In an earlier version of this story, a participant in the financing and a participant in equity funding for the Northbrook Corporate Center in Trevose, PA, were not identified, because their names were not provided to GlobeSt.com. The story has been updated to include the names of these financing participants.