CLIFTON, NJ-Once the corporate headquarters of home goods retailer Linens ‘n Things, an office complex on Brighton Road here has secured its first tenant under new ownership. Office Depot is taking a full floor of 17,000 square feet at 4 Brighton Rd. in what is now known as the Allwood Atrium Office Park.

Lease terms were not disclosed; according to published reports, Office Depot is relocating from about 29,500 square feet at Mountain Development’s 100 Delawanna Ave. in Clifton. Telx, a data center operator also located at 100 Delawanna, plans to expand into Office Depot’s vacated space, the Bergen Record reported late last month.

In September, GlobeSt.com reported that the current owners of the three-building complex at 2, 4 and 6 Brighton Rd. paid about $6 million in an all-cash deal for what had been owned by Linens ‘n Things. The seller was LNR Partners; the buyers were a partnership of KABR Real Estate Investment Partners LLC and Capstone Realty Group Inc., two funds that specialize buying and operating of distressed commercial real estate and debt.

The former Linen’s & Things corporate headquarters last sold for $18 million in 2001 but appraised for $20.6 million at the market’s peak in 2007, according to KABR and Capstone. Linens ‘n Things vacated its headquarters in early 2009 after filing for bankruptcy and stopped making payments on the $15.2-million note; LNR foreclosed on the complex this past July.

Newmark Knight Frank Capitol Group’s Matthew Schnurr told GlobeSt.com in September that the complex received nearly 90 confidentiality agreements and more than 20 offers. Simultaneous with acquiring the $15.2-million note on the complex, KABR and Capstone secured ownership of the building via a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure from LNR.

After buying the 155,000-square-foot campus, KABR and Capstone then re-sold 6 Brighton, a 55,000-square-foot annex building, to NJ Physician for use as medical office space. The partnership then set about upgrading the entire campus and interiors of 2 and 4 Brighton. The complex was rebranded as the Allwood Atrium due to its indoor and outdoor atrium spaces.

“Office Depot will take possession in mid-March 2011 after the majority of site improvement and building interior upgrades are completed,” Capstone managing partner Mitchell Adelstein says in a release. “The polishing of Allwood Atrium is on schedule and when completed in early spring ‘11, the property’s transformation into an attractive corporate campus and medical office park will be complete.”

Dan Lessing of DSR Group, the leasing agent for the complex, says in a release that the KABR/Capstone partnership was my most aggressive client in 2010 and they worked aggressively and closely with the tenant to make this deal come together.” He adds, “Their recent renovation of Allwood Atrium is creating a lot of activity and we anticipate signing several additional deals in the next few months.” Adelstein adds that “we quickly cleaned up the property into a unique asset” and that “we expect that Allwood Atrium will continue attract high-quality tenants like Office Depot.”