EAST ORANGE, NJ—In what has become one of New Jersey's exclusive emerging neighborhoods, three East Orange high-rise multi-family towers totaling 249 units located along South Harrison Street changed hands for $27.15 million.

The Gebroe-Hammer Associates brokerage team of managing directors David Oropeza and Joseph Brecher exclusively represented the seller and identified the buyer, respectively. Gebroe-Hammer did not disclose the names, but Real Capital Analytics, a proprietary research database, indicates that two of the buildings were owned by a joint venture of TreeTop Development and Phoenix Realty Group, which acquired them from Fannie Mae.

The East Orange Towers portfolio includes 106, 111 and 120 South Harrison St., located in the historic Main Street/South Harrison Street residential neighborhood. Primarily comprised of small-to-high-rise apartment-rental properties, 99 percent of the area's real estate is occupied by renters – the highest rate of renter occupancy of any neighborhood nationally, Gebroe-Hammer says its research shows. The portfolio's units span 119 units at 106 South Harrison, 86 units at 111 South Harrison and 44 units at 120 South Harrison Street. The overall unit mix includes 3 studio, 142 one-bedroom, 83 two-bedroom and 21 three-bedroom layouts.

“These buildings, all of which are classic, early 20^th-Century buildings, are well-known fixtures along the city's architectural landscape,” says Oropeza, the firm's urban market specialist who has specialized in East Orange multi-family properties for the past 30 years. “Collectively, they are often linked together due to their convenient location near shopping, dining, parks and mass transit and certain aesthetic similarities, yet they retain their individual unique-in-character identities.”

Each of the properties features newly renovated units that include modern bathrooms and kitchens, hardwood flooring and central air conditioning/heating. Lifestyle amenities range from on-premises laundry and parking facilities and art-deco lobbies/hallways, to well-manicured grounds and tenant-only fitness rooms.

“The opportunity to acquire three prominent, historically well-occupied apartment buildings in a city where transportation is its greatest asset attracted widespread investor interest among those who already have a presence as well as those seeking to gain entry into this high-population-density submarket,” says Brecher. “Private-investment initiatives and gentrification of the tenant base are spurring further revitalization in what is expected to become another of North Jersey's high-barrier-to-entry multi-family investment markets.”

Instant Insights /

Continuing South Harrison Street's Emergence, East Orange MF Portfolio Trades for $27M

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