The Mews at Princeton Junction at 900 Wessex Place in Princeton Junction — Courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
A sprawling garden apartment complex outside Princeton is on the market for sale with the potential to draw offers in the $170 million range.
According to JLL, which is marketing the property, The Mews at Princeton Junction consists of 636 units on more than 62 acres in the Princeton Junction section of West Windsor. The complex was nearly 93 percent at the time of an offering late last month, thanks in part to its proximity to downtown Princeton and Princeton University, major employers and Route 1.
Notably, its current owner recently renovated six units that are occupied and have since achieved a 27 percent increase in rent, JLL said, “displaying the proven value-add opportunity for a future investor to renovate the remaining units.”
“Mews at Princeton Junction offers an investor the rare opportunity to acquire an institutionally owned, multi-housing community with resort style amenities and recently renovated units, with the opportunity to improve the remaining mass of nonrenovated units, within the highly coveted Princeton Junction submarket,” JLL said in its offering materials. It added: “The Princeton submarket, also known as ‘Einstein’s Alley,’ is bolstered by an impressive roster of leading Fortune 500, life science and financial service employers including Bank of America, BlackRock Financial Management, Bristol Myers Squibb, Integra Life Sciences, S&P Global and more.”
Jose Cruz, Mike Oliver, Steve Simonelli, Elizabeth DeVesty, Austin Pierce and Peter Kim are leading the JLL investment sales team on the assignment, with Tom Didio and Gerard Quinn available for financing advisory. They noted that the Princeton multifamily market has historically been strained by a stringent supply and a dearth of new construction, with more than 60 percent of units built before 2010, while the Mews at Princeton Junction’s in-place rent of $2,244 is roughly 12 percent of the average household income within a three-mile radius.
The property has a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse with multiple pools, a modern fitness center and other amenities, JLL said. Residents, meantime, have access to free shuttle service to the Princeton Junction train station.
The firm added that Princeton University is less than three miles away, while residents are a short drive from a wealth of retail and restaurant options and major highways such as Route 1, Interstate 295 and Route 206.
