7 Giralda Farms in Madison — Courtesy: Bergman Real Estate Group
By Joshua Burd
Bergman Real Estate Group has added to its suburban office holdings in the state, acquiring a piece of the well-known Giralda Farms corporate campus in Madison.
The Woodbridge-based firm said it’s now planning a $3.6 million upgrade at the building, 7 Giralda Farms, after completing the deal as part of a joint venture with Eightfold Capital. The investment team will look to begin those improvements at the 236,800-square-foot building as it markets spaces ranging from 4,000 to 80,000 square feet.
“We are very excited about this newest addition to our portfolio,” said Michael Bergman, CEO and president of Bergman Real Estate Group. “7 Giralda is a quality asset situated in one of the most beautiful office settings you will find in all of New Jersey. What we really like are the flexible floor plates that can accommodate large users as well as smaller to medium tenants, making this one of the first true multi-tenanted buildings within the Giralda Farms campus.”
Attorneys Mitchell Berkey and Joseph Zawila of Chiesa Shahinian and Giantomasi PC represented Bergman in the acquisition from Mack-Cali Realty Corp., which announced last week that it had sold the building for $29 million. Scott Goldberg of Shem Creek Capital provided financing, which was arranged by JLL’s New Jersey capital markets team of Michael Klein, Greg Nalbandian and Gerald Quinn.
Developed in 2000, 7 Giralda Farms is one of seven office buildings within a 1.15 million-square-foot, 310-acre campus, which is set on the former Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Estate. Conceived and originally developed in the early 1990s by Prudential Financial, Giralda Farms is viewed as a high-end suburban office location that has also been home to the likes of Merck & Co., Pfizer and Atlantic Health System.
Bergman’s plans for the property include upgrading the lobbies, restrooms, café and fitness center, as well as the addition of new amenities, according to a news release. Those spaces will include an executive lounge with comfortable seating, collaboration and entertainment areas, a high-end conference and training center, co-working offices, hospitality-style outdoor seating areas and outdoor recreational offerings such as a bike share program.
The firm is planning the improvements in hopes of capitalizing on 7 Giralda’s location along Madison Avenue, some 1.5 miles from downtown Madison and three miles from downtown Morristown. The site also provides easy access to two train stations and a host of restaurants, retailers and hotels.
“As the office market continues to improve with companies and their employees returning to the workplace, we believe 7 Giralda Farms offers one of the best amenity-rich, scenic office environments in all of New Jersey,” Bergman said. “7 Giralda truly exemplifies the best of quality for corporations looking for the ideal work-play balance for the health and well-being of their employees.”
