Pavilion Apartments, 136 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark, NJ, with Kislak Company senior vice president Joni Sweetwood, who brokered the record sale.

NEWARK, NJ—A regionally based investor group, The Pavilion Towers, has acquired Pavilion Apartments, one of Newark, NJ's largest and most iconic multifamily properties, designed by modernist architecture pioneer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, for $70.5 million.

The Pavilion Apartments transaction is the single largest sale of a multifamily property in Newark—by more than $18 million—based on data available from CoStar. It is also among the largest multifamily properties in Newark and all of New Jersey.

The property is located at 136 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Newark's Central Ward, just north of the city's downtown, and adjacent to Newark Broad Street Station, a New Jersey Transit rail and light rail station. It offers superior high-rise living with panoramic views of wide swaths of northern New Jersey and New York City.

The asset consists of two adjacent 22-story high-rise buildings with 680 residential units and two retail spaces (one in each building) on over eight acres. The residential unit mix includes studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Aerial view of Pavilion Apartments, 136 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark, NJ. Newark Broad Street Train Station is at right.

The Kislak Company marketed the property on behalf of longtime client Pavilion Broad Street. Senior vice president Joni Sweetwood represented the seller and procured the purchaser.

“This was an extraordinary sale in a burgeoning market,” Sweetwood says. “Over the last several years, we have been witnessing Newark's long-awaited renaissance with rapid development throughout the city and population growth. More and more people are moving to downtown Newark given its ongoing transformation and easy commute to New York City. Pavilion Apartments are well positioned to meet the growing demand for affordable luxury housing in Newark's economic and cultural center.”

The terms of the sale included the assumption of existing debt with the addition of significant equity.

Pavilion Apartments were built in 1958. After completing the landmark Seagram Building in New York, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed three towers in Newark, two of which are Pavilion Apartments. In recent years, the seller completed numerous capital improvements.

“This was a once-in-a-generation sale,” says Robert Holland, Kislak president. “Properties of this size and stature rarely trade. From start to finish, Joni did an absolutely amazing job facilitating the sale. For years, she had been working with the seller and analyzing the market to optimize the timing of our marketing and eventual sale. Joni also procured the ideal buyer who will benefit long-term as the property is enhanced further, residential demand in Newark increases even more and Newark's renaissance continues.”

Sweetwood previously handled the sale of multifamily properties in Asbury Park and Orange, New Jersey for affiliates of Pavilion Broad Street. She joined Kislak in 1996 and is one of the firm's all-time leading salespeople. Sweetwood has won numerous sales awards, including the Sima Kislak Jelin Salesperson of the Year award in 2010 and the firm's production award multiple times since then.

Instant Insights /

Iconic Modernist Pavilion Apartments in Newark Sell for Record Price

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