Market Sectors

New Jersey has an unmatched location and a population that developers dream about. It’s no wonder the commercial real estate industry is flourishing and evolving across all segments of the market.

Event Coverage
Atlantic Builders Convention returns with renewed energy, focus on housing affordability

Thousands of homebuilders and service providers flocked to Atlantic City this week for the return of the Atlantic Builders Convention, where the breadth of the industry was on full display alongside a renewed focus on housing affordability.

Finance & Capital Markets
JLL: Delta Equity Management refis new 196,000 sq. ft. industrial building

The developer of a new distribution center in Bayonne has secured funds to refinance the nearly 196,000-square-foot property, according to a debt placement team with JLL.

Residential & Mixed Use
Walters plans April delivery for second age-, income-restricted rental building in Branchburg

Development firm Walters has nearly completed the final piece of a new age-restricted apartment community in the Somerset County township of Branchburg.

Residential & Mixed Use
Logical Buildings launches $110 million platform to help landlords capture energy savings

Logical Buildings, a technology firm that helps landlords manage their energy costs, has launched a new $110 million facility for a so-called virtual power plant project that seeks to help apartments owners realize new savings and reduce their carbon footprint.

Office
Joint venture buys 101,000 sq. ft. Princeton-area office building, JLL says

An investment group has purchased a nearly 101,000-square-foot office building some five miles from downtown Princeton, in a newly announced deal by JLL.

Finance & Capital Markets
STRO, Valley ink $11 million refi for 81,000 sq. ft. Hackensack industrial park

The STRO Cos. has secured an $11 million loan to refinance an 81,000-square-foot industrial park in Hackensack.

Health Care & Education
Atkins buys Washington Twp. medical office building for $14 million

Atkins Cos. has expanded its medical office portfolio with the addition of more than 70,000 square feet in Gloucester County, brokers with Avison Young announced Tuesday.

Professional Services
Four Rutgers Center for Real Estate students joining Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop, a corporate sponsor of the Rutgers Center for Real Estate, has hired four students thanks in part to their participation in the Rutgers Business School program.

Editor’s Note
Finding a spark

We all know that developing in New Jersey is not for the faint of heart. Just ask any of the countless builders who have endured delays or scrapped projects altogether in the face of pushback by residents and a litany of regulatory hurdles.

The flip side? A supportive local government can go a long way in sparking new investment, as we’ve seen in what appears to be a growing list of municipalities in our state. That group includes the city of Orange in eastern Essex County, where at least 1,000 luxury apartments have been planned near two train stations with Midtown Direct service. As you’ll read in this month’s cover story, the projects have the potential to breathe new life into the town of 30,000 residents in 2.2 square miles, following decades of struggles despite its prime location on Interstate 280 and just west of Newark.

Events
IOREBA panel conveys optimism, pragmatism amid market uncertainty (SLIDESHOW)

Speaking at IOREBA’s annual Developers Night, a panel of industry leaders offered both optimism and assuredness, but also frustration about a market that is still fundamentally strong in many respects but grinding along in the face of economic headwinds.