The long-term fixed-rate loan was arranged by Martin Klebanoff, SVP and co-manager of the Parsippany office of NorthMarq Capital Inc. The transaction was put together through NorthMarq's relationship with Principal Commercial Funding.

The financing follows quickly on the heels of another recent major transaction involving Park Place, which is the redeveloped former ExxonMobil campus here. As reported exclusively by GlobeSt.com, the Bedminster-based Advance Realty late last month bought out the interests of its partner in the property, a pension fund advisor that it declined to identify, for $80 million. The company used internally generated funds to complete the transaction, according to COO Greg Senkevitch.

Advance and its now-former partner had acquired the site four years ago as surplus property in the wake of the merger of Exxon and Mobil. The new owner subsequently launched a repositioning effort that has, since then, brought the renamed Park Place to 92% occupancy. "The financing was aggressively sought after by the capital markets because of the nature of the reconstruction, the finishes, the long-term leasing and the strength of the borrower," Klebanoff says. "Advance has performed admirably in recognizing the potential for the property.

Advance's reconstruction and near lease-up of the campus has come at a time when the North Jersey market, as many others, has struggled with substantial excess office space. Major tenants on-site now include Altana Pharmaceuticals, Lehman Brothers, Global Crossing and Odyssey Pharmaceuticals. The latter signed on for more than 50,000 sf for its headquarters in the middle of 2004.

Another significant lease recently signed was with Aurora Loan Services, a Lehman Brothers subsidiary, which took nearly 46,000 sf. And earlier in 2004, Whatman Inc., a separation technology company from the UK, took 25,740 sf for its world operational headquarters. "Park Place has continued to experience an extraordinary leasing performance," says Robert R. Martie, Advance's SVP and regional managing director.