Cross River Bank Stays in New Jersey with Fort Lee Office Deal
Cross River Bank, which had been considering relocating its headquarters to a facility in Orangeburg, NY, did receive a Grow NJ grant in connection with the purchase.
FORT LEE, NJ—Cross River Bank has acquired the 70,000-square-foot 2115 Linwood Ave. office building in an off-market transaction with Mack-Cali Realty.
The deal will allow Cross River to relocate its corporate headquarters and approximately 200 employees to the building, according to commercial brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield, which represented Cross River Bank in the transaction. Cross River Bank, which had been considering relocating its headquarters to a facility in Orangeburg, NY, did receive a Grow NJ grant in connection with the purchase. No other financial terms of the transaction were disclosed.
Cross River will initially occupy approximately 36,447 square feet at 2115 Linwood Ave. and will take on additional space in the five-story building as its employee base grows. C&W’s David Sherman, executive managing director, headed the team representing Cross River and also spearheaded the company’s office search with Marc Trevisan, executive managing director.
“Ultimately, however, the company wanted to stay in Fort Lee—where it was founded and where it has thrived. We helped Cross River’s leadership pinpoint 2115 Linwood Ave. as the ideal, high-image and highly functional target location and approached Mack-Cali to propose the sale,” Sherman says. “The company’s willingness to part with this trophy asset created an outstanding opportunity for our client.”
Cross River, which was founded in 2008, was recognized as the “Most Innovative Bank” at the LendIt Fintech Industry Awards in 2017 and 2018, and was named to Forbes’ 2019 list of “Most Innovative Fintech Companies.” Cross River’s commitment to supporting employees and fostering a healthy work/life balance also earned the bank a spot on American Banker’s “Best Fintechs to Work For” list.
“At a time when New Jersey is hyper-focused on attracting and retaining high-growth, innovative companies—those that support the creation of new white-collar employment—this investment by Cross River in Fort Lee is a real win for the state,” Sherman says.
Last month, Cross River announced the closing of a $18.75 million acquisition loan in the Bronx for the purchase of vacant, waterfront land for which the borrower will develop a 1-million-square foot mixed-use project with 25% of the residential square feet set aside for affordable housing. The transaction comes on the heels of two other significant loans in New York by the bank—an $8.3-million construction loan in Brooklyn where 30% of the units will be allocated for affordable housing and a $29.5-million bridge loan package consisting of three light industrial properties in New York and New Jersey.