Mack-Cali Buys Soundview Plaza in Stamford for $33M

STAMFORD, CT-In a deal valued at approximately $33 million, Mack-Cali Realty Corp. has purchased Soundview Plaza, a 179,260-sf office building here from an investment group led by Peter and Anthony Malkin of New York City.

Mack-Cali, a Cranford, NJ-based REIT, announced the deal on Wednesday, which brings its office holdings in Fairfield County, CT to nine properties totaling more than 850,000 sf of office space. Rockwood Realty Associates LLC of New York City represented the seller, Soundview Plaza Associates LLC, in the deal.

Soundview Plaza is a seven-story building located at 1266 East Main St. that is 95% leased to 17 tenants. The purchase agreement also includes an adjoining five-story parking garage.

Mitchell E. Hersh, chief executive officer of Mack-Cali, comments on its latest purchase by saying, “The transaction underscores our ability to redeploy proceeds from sales of non-core assets to enhance our strong presence in core Northeast markets and add top-quality properties to our portfolio.”

He adds, “Our acquisition of Soundview Plaza is consistent with Mack-Cali’s overall strategy of focusing our growth in Northeast markets. The building itself is an excellent fit for our portfolio-a well-leased and stabilized top-class property.”

On Tuesday (Nov. 5) Mack-Cali reported it had acquired 1633 Littleton Rd., a 57,722-sf office building in Parsippany, NJ from an affiliate of Ivy Equities for $11.35 million.

Mack-Cali’s overall holdings amount to ownership or interest in 261 properties, primarily located in the Northeast, totaling approximately 28.8 million sf. The company’s core product involves either office or office/flex properties.

From the seller’s perspective, with the sale of Soundview Plaza, the Malkin family controls more than one million sf of office space in Stamford. Its two major holdings are the Metro Center, a 280,000-sf building at the Stamford Transportation Center and First Stamford Place, a three-building, 810,000-sf complex in downtown Stamford.

According to Anthony E. Malkin, president of W&M Properties, the acquisition, management and marketing arm of the Malkin family, the Malkins are seeking to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into new purchases through a tax-deferred swap under provisions of Section 1031 of the Federal Tax Code.

Malkin notes that W&M will be looking for “quality property that may not be realizing its full potential and thus could benefit from repositioning in the marketplace and improved management.”

George S. Perry, senior vice president and director of investments for W&M, adds that the company has until Dec. 20, 2002 to identify properties it wishes to purchase to qualify for the tax deferment. The firm must close on the deals it wishes to include in the 1031 swap by May 4, 2003.

The firm will consider properties larger than Soundview Plaza that are located in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes and Midwest, as well as in select Southeastern and Western states.

“Allowing for conservative leverage and the possibility of co-investment from an additional equity capital source, we are willing to look at suburban office or residential properties, and even select center-city retail, including retail condominium interests, above the $50 million range,” Perry notes.

He adds that the company is in some acquisition discussions already and has bid on some properties for sale in the New York metro area. He would not disclose any specific properties the firm is currently considering.