TIAA-CREF Buys 299 Madison Ave.

MORRISTOWN, NJ-The three-story, 57,062-sf building at 299 Madison Ave. here has been sold by 299 Madison Realty Partners LLC, a local group, to New York City-based TIAA-CREF. The building has, as its major tenant under a long-term lease, Jacobs Edwards and Kelcey, which uses the site as its headquarters. Formerly known as Edwards and Kelcey, the engineering, design and construction management firm was acquired a year ago by Jacobs Engineering.

The seller was represented by Jeffrey Dunne, Kevin Welsh and Jeffrey Oram of CB Richard Ellis’ New York Institutional Group, in collaboration with Thomas Mallaney and Daniel Casey of CBRE’s Saddle Brook office. The team also procured the buyer, which was represented in-house.

The buyer, seller and brokers involved with the deal declined to disclose the sale price. Industry sources, however, tell GlobeSt.com that the final number was in the $15-million range, which would factor out to more than $260 per sf.

“The building’s long-term lease with the exceptional credit quality of the anchor tenant offered the institutional investor strong current yield,” Dunne says. “The fixed rental increases over the lease term enhance the overall investment returns for the buyer.”

“The sale of 299 Madison Ave. generated a high level of investor demand,” Welsh says. “That’s due to the attractive long-term leases, along with the features of the surrounding market area.”

Those features include the nearby proximity of the Convent Station train station, an NJ Transit stop. Also nearby are Morristown Memorial Hospital, Fairleigh-Dickinson University-Florham Park campus and the Downtown business district.

“The building is an example of the type of high-quality properties that we feel can add value to our clients,” says Trevor Michael, managing director of US acquisitions for TIAA-CREF Global Real Estate.