"Portfolio acquisitions are a major focus of our growth strategy," Stadtmauer explains. "The Shengs properties, by nature of their locations and strong leasing histories, made this an opportunity to add multifamily and office holdings in one transaction."

The newly acquired portfolio includes a total of 537 rental apartment units currently registering 97% occupancy. Overall, the New Jersey properties in the sale include mixed-use buildings with retail stores in Maplewood; three residential properties in Nutley, two in Belleville, and one each in Garfield and Highland Park; and a total of five commercial assets in Neptune, Brick, Freehold and West Orange. Two additional residential buildings are located in Philadelphia.

The undeveloped land, all in New Jersey, is divided up between two tracts each in Hardyston and Pemberton, and one site in Freehold. "Our expansion strategy involves a balance of commercial, residential and land purchases," according to Stadtmauer.

"This transaction included a number of very complex components which required flexibility," according to Jeff Wiener, president of the Kislak Co. of Woodbridge, NJ. Wiener and Kislak vice president Roseanne Maccarone represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction.

Kushner has been known primarily as a residential real estate developer and owner, and the latest acquisition raises the company's multifamily holdings past the 25,000-apartment-unit mark. Much of the company's recent expansion, however, has involved commercial assets (Kislak, for example, arranged the company's acquisition of a major interest in the 1.5-million-sf Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, NJ last year), and the latest deal boosts the company's commercial holdings over the 7.5-million-sf mark.