Advance Realty Portfolio May Bring $700M

BEDMINSTER, NJ-It's no secret that Advance Realty Group, based here, has been actively shopping its existing commercial portfolio, while planning to keep its development holdings and perhaps a couple of its existing properties. And it's been rumored widely that the company has been talking to officials of Normandy Real Estate Partners about a sale that would involve most of those existing holdings, which amount to 5.5 million sf of office, flex, industrial, retail and multifamily properties.

Now, GlobeSt.com has learned, the rumored deal may be near. Normandy officials did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Advance issued a statement that, "we've heard the rumor, but both parties agree that it is just that, a rumor. There is no information or news at this time…should any news become available…we will let you know."

But as a reliable source tells GlobeSt.com, "everybody knows it's happening. It's been held up by the extended due diligence. They're also trying to work out some structuring details for tax purposes. It's a very complex transaction. It has a lot of moving parts."

"[Advance's financial partner] Rothschild wants it," another source tells GlobeSt.com. "Peter [Cocoziello, Advance's chairman] is handling it himself. He's left his other people out of it. And Normandy also has issues on what to keep and what to spin off."

As far as the final price tag, "Advance was looking for a number north of $700 million," the first source says. "The general feeling is that the final number will be in the $675-million to $700-million range.

Key properties that will likely be part of the final deal include the 500,000-sf One Gateway Center in Downtown Newark; and half-million-sf Sarnoff Technology Campus in West Windsor, NJ; the four-building, 350,000-sf Park Place in Florham Park, NJ; the 325,000-sf Advance at Southgate in Morris Twp.; and Middlebrook Crossroads, an 800,000-sf, 20-building industrial park in Bridgewater, NJ. Out-of-state properties include Avion Business Park, a nine-building, 730,000-sf complex on 188 acres in Fairfax County, VA.

Development projects that would likely be retained by Advance include Harrison MetroCentre, a major MXD redevelopment in Harrison, NJ, directly across the river from Newark. The first phase is slated to include 450,000 sf of retail, a 350-room hotel, 1,800 residential units and a 25,000-seat stadium for the Red Bulls Major League Soccer team. Also to be retained is a proposed technology campus that would be developed around the Picatinny Arsenal, a federal installation in northwestern New Jersey.