"We feel that One Gateway Center is one of the true trophy buildings in New Jersey," says Joseph Romano, senior vice president and regional managing director for Advance Realty. "This transaction is in keeping with our ongoing strategy of investing in quality assets located in the Northeast.

"We also see One Gateway Center as a complement to our neighboring mixed-use development across the river in Harrison," Romano continues. He's referring to a major downtown redevelopment project Advance is doing there that includes a large office component, residences, retailing and a home stadium for pro soccer's MetroStars.

One Gateway Center, meanwhile, is part of downtown Newark's Gateway Center, one of the Garden State's largest mixed-use projects. Located at the intersection of Raymond Blvd. and McCarter Highway, the complex is made up of four interconnecting office buildings, with separate ownership, totaling 2.3 million sf.

Other Gateway Center components include the 250-key Gateway Hilton Hotel and more than 80,000 sf of retail space, restaurants and other amenities. The complex is also linked by skywalk to the Newark Legal Center and to Newark Penn Station, a major Amtrak and commuter rail stop.

One immediate task at hand for Advance Realty is filling a major block of space that's about to be vacated within One Gateway Center, which was built back in the 1970s and has historically maintained high occupancy. Indeed, a flurry of leasing activity earlier this year brought the building back close to the 100% mark.

But the FBI, which has for years been using nine full floors totaling some 160,000 sf as its regional headquarters, is moving out. The federal agency will transfer its local operations, early next year, into its new build-to-suit office tower a few blocks away on the banks of the Passaic River.