Brandywine Sells Park 80 West for $74.6M

Brandywine had acquired the class A Park 80 West in late 1997 and subsequently launched a major overhaul of the property to reposition it. Currently 98% leased, the property's two towers are home to such tenants as New York Life Insurance and Unilever, which moved here from nearby Englewood Cliffs. The New Jersey offices of Insignia/ESG are also based in the facility.

For Brandywine, the move is the continuation of a repositioning of sorts for its portfolio. According to Gerard H. Sweeney, the firm's president and CEO, "the sale is in keeping with our strategy of concentrating our interests in the central and southern portions of New Jersey, as well as in the Greater Philadelphia marketplace. As a dominant owner and developer in those regions, we feel we are able to capitalize on economies of scale and synergies that are byproducts of our in-market consolidation program."

Saddle Brook, in Bergen County, is in the northern part of the Garden State, where Brandywine now has only one property remaining in its portfolio.

Transwestern's new asset has one of the better locations in the state, situated as it is at the intersection of I-80 and the Garden State Parkway, less than 10 miles from the George Washington Bridge. Among its amenities are a structured parking deck, a fitness center, a 5,000-sf cafeteria and a variety of on-site services.

Brandywine Realty Trust, based in Newtown Square, PA, has regional offices in King of Prussia, PA, Mt. Laurel, NJ and Richmond, VA. The company owns, manages or has interests in 310 office and industrial properties totaling 21.2 million sf. Transwestern has invested more than $2.8 billion nationally since its founding in 1996.