1030-1050 Route 46 in Clifton — Courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
A developer has secured acquisition financing for a nearly 49,000-square-foot commercial property in Clifton that it plans to reposition as a grocery-anchored retail center.
According to JLL, which arranged the transaction, Fidelity Investments provided the $11.5 million loan in connection with the complex at 1030-1050 Route 46. The brokerage team noted the borrower is now set to begin some $1.5 million in capital improvements, including façade enhancements, signage upgrades and parking lot repairs as part of a plan that’s expected to stabilize the property within 18 months, capitalizing on a location in one of New Jersey’s most heavily trafficked retail corridors.
JLL’s Ryan Carroll, Nazario Paragano and Christian Badalamenti spearheaded the team that secured the three-year, floating-rate loan, noting that the formerly vacant commercial property was 80 percent preleased prior to closing.
“This transaction demonstrates continued investor confidence in well-located retail assets with strategic repositioning potential,” Carroll said. “The property’s irreplaceable location at major highway intersections and our client’s proven track record of successful retail transformations made this an attractive financing opportunity.”
Occupying a 4.3-acre site at the junction of Route 3, the property sits within a submarket that has maintained vacancy rates of just 1.7 percent over the past five years, significantly outperforming the broader regional market, JLL said. Some 56,000 vehicles pass the site daily, providing a strong case for a plan that will include both a grocery store and complementary specialty uses.
The borrower’s renovations will also include HVAC system replacements, roof updates and additional modernizations to support its repositioned tenant mix, JLL said.
