"We are bullish on Northern New Jersey because it's a deep submarket with limited supply of new development," says Joseph L. Fox, Pitcairn's EVP. "Pitcairn already has footprints in the region and intends to expand rapidly here. River Drive Center II is a good case study of the type of opportunistic investments we are aggressively pursuing."

Pitcairn rose to prominence years ago with the development of a number of high-rise downtown buildings. Notable among them were the Bell Atlantic Tower in Philadelphia and the PPG Tower in Pittsburgh.

Pitcairn was represented in the transaction by Geoffrey Schubert, senior vice president in the Saddle Brook, NJ office of CB Richard Ellis. The seller was an investment group that was not identified. The sale price was not disclosed, however, various industry sources put the price tag in the $12-million to $16-million range.

Concurrent to putting the sale transaction together, CBRE also picked up the exclusive leasing assignment for the building. Handling the assignment will be Schubert and CBRE colleagues Daniel F. Casey III, vice president, and Michael Gervasio, associate.

Developed in 1984 and renovated 12 years later, the center is part of a three-building office complex. The asset is currently 60% leased, with WebMD, MetLife and Profit 21 among its tenants.