From left: River View Apartments at 60 South Main St. in Lodi, Royal Court Apartments at 5 Pangborn Place in Hackensack and Windsor Apartments at 70 Anderson St. in Hackensack. — Courtesy: The Kislak Co. Inc.
By Joshua Burd
A private investor has made a series of multifamily deals in Bergen County, selling a 28-unit building in Lodi while adding a combined 88 units across two properties in Hackensack.
Andrew Scheinerman of The Kislak Co. Inc. arranged the transactions, which totaled $20.725 million and involved assets in established residential neighborhoods near major highways. That includes the $6.1 million sale of River View Apartments in Lodi, a two-story brick building at 60 South Main St. with updated studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes, on-site parking and a 20 to 25 percent increase in rent roll under the now-former owner.
The seller completed the deal as part of a Section 1031 like-kind exchange that included the corresponding purchase of Royal Court Apartments, a 59-unit property at 5 Pangborn Place in Hackensack, for $9.7 million, Kislak said. The investor also acquired Windsor Apartments, a 29-unit property at 70 Anderson St. in the city, for $4.925 million.
Notably, both Hackensack buildings changed hands for the first time in more than 50 years.
“River View Apartments commanded one of the highest prices per unit ever achieved for a vintage multifamily asset in Lodi, underscoring the market’s appetite for quality apartment investments,” said Scheinerman, a senior vice president with Woodbridge-based Kislak. “Royal Court and Windsor Apartments offered an exceptionally rare opportunity, having been owned by the same family for more than eight decades before the owners chose to capitalize on today’s strong investment market.”
Built in 1937, the five-story, 37,400-square-foot Royal Court consists of one- and two-bedroom units with a range of floorplan types. Windsor Apartments, for its part, is a four-story, 27,800-square-foot brick building constructed in 1925 with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.
More than 90 percent of the units at Royal Court Apartments and Windsor Apartments had been upgraded through renovations including new kitchen and bathroom fixtures and appliances, refinished or replaced flooring, and the removal of interior non-bearing walls to create modern open floor plans while preserving the character of the prewar buildings, Kislak said. The properties also have on-site laundry facilities, fully functioning elevators, updated landscaping and landlord-paid heat and hot water.
The brokerage team added that the buildings have average in-place rents of roughly $1,425 to $1,450 per month, providing significant upside potential through future rent growth. The buildings also benefit from favorable 5 percent rent control regulations, with vacancy decontrol provisions based on utility payment structure.
