The transaction was orchestrated by Cushman & Wakefield's Metropolitan Area Financial Services Group (FSG), East Rutherford, NJ, which was signed by BetaWest last summer to market the assets. The two buildings, located near the intersection of I-287 and Route 18, are part of the four-building, 354,241-sf, multi-tenant One Centennial Plaza, which serves as the world headquarters for American Standard Corp. Until last summer, American Standard owned two of the buildings, at which point the company entered into a 20-year sale-leaseback.
"The balance of the One Centennial Plaza, which comprised the sale transaction, is 99% leased to American Standard and Great West Life and Annuity Insurance, and was slated for sale by its opportunity fund owner," explains C&W FSG executive director David Bernhaut. "Despite the slow economy and increasing vacancy rates in the market, this transaction offered leasing stability and tenant credit that is particularly difficult to find today."
"Its strong cash flow and lack of scheduled lease rollovers during the next several years made it possible to arrange attractive financing," according to Bernhaut, who describes the approach to the sale as "a pre-emptive bid strategy. We received a number of bids. Ultimately, the buyer got a quality property at attractive per-sf pricing, and our client achieved a satisfactory return on its initial investment."
David Weinstein, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Lincoln Equities Group, and Brad Seiden of Investcorp negotiated the transaction on behalf of the partnership. Stephanie Lawrence, senior vice president of BetaWest, negotiated on behalf of the seller.
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