SECAUCUS, NJ-Hartz Mountain Industries has refinanced its 200 Plaza Dr., a 241,500-sf office building here, to the tune of $50 million. Company officials say the proceeds will be used to renovate the building, add a new parking structure and pay for soft costs. The new parking garage will add 485 spaces to the building's 110-space underground garage.
The Hartford Investment Management Inc. provided the money. The transaction was arranged for the borrower by Tom Didio, senior managing director in the Florham Park office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler. HFF will service the loan, which carries a 20-year term at a fixed rate.
"The Hartford structured this loan not only to address the borrower's construction-related issues," Didio says. "The loan was also structured around the lease rollover issue in year 15 by offering a 20-year term."
Located within the locally based Hartz's mixed-use Harmon Meadow development, the building is near the New Jersey Turnpike and the Lincoln Tunnel to Manhattan. The property is fully occupied, with major tenants including AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. and Ernst & Young. As reported by GlobeSt.com, AXA Equitable Life just renewed its lease for nearly 61,000 sf, or about one-quarter of the building's space, in October. The company occupies all of the building's first floor and a portion of its lower level.
"Lease renewals like AXA Equitable are signs of a tightening market," says Emanuel Stern, Hartz's president and COO. "New activity in the market has been moderately strong, and as a result of the improving occupancy, existing tenants are left with few local options."
The refi of 200 Plaza Dr. is also the second major transaction involving a Hartz-owned office building here in recent weeks. As reported by GlobeSt.com, the company in late January sold One Harmon Plaza, a 28-year-old, 10-story, 187,000-sf asset on Meadowlands Parkway. The buyer was a joint venture of Prism Capital Partners and the New Boston Fund. The price was not disclosed, but industry sources told GlobeSt.com that the number was "in the mid-20s."
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.