Dover Hills Apartments at 99-120 First St. in Dover — Courtesy: Gebroe-Hammer Associates
By Joshua Burd
A private investor has purchased a 100-unit apartment complex in downtown Dover for nearly $16 million, in a newly announced transaction by Gebroe-Hammer Associates.
Brokers with the firm said the property, Dover Hills Apartments, provides a value-add opportunity in a downtown setting. That helped generate broad interest for the collection of mostly one-bedroom units at 99-120 First St., which is less than a mile from Route 46.
“Thanks to its sought-after location and Morris County’s expanding renter base of former big-city dwellers — both pre-pandemic and in the current COVID-19 economy — Dover Hills Apartments is a classic candidate for property repositioning,” Gebroe-Hammer’s Steve Tragash said. “Its spacious layouts alone have enduring appeal among the neighborhood’s executive- and managerial-level tenant base.”
Tragash, an executive vice president with the firm, procured the buyer in the $15.7 million deal, while Senior Vice President Debbie Pomerantz represented the seller, Dover Hills Properties LLC.
“One of Dover Hills’ greatest assets is its location in Morris County, the state and the region,” Pomerantz said. “Situated within one of the fastest-growing counties in the entire tristate area, Dover Hills also is at the heart of the municipality’s high-walk-score downtown business district — one of the most desirable neighborhoods where quaint architecture, access to mass transit and a quiet residential atmosphere co-exist.”
In a news release, the Livingston-based firm said the property sits within one of Dover’s most-expensive and safest neighborhoods, citing its high rate of appreciation since 2000. It’s also within steps of NJ Transit bus service and less than a half-mile from the town’s commuter rail station.
Gebroe-Hammer added that Dover Hills is also minutes from Interstate 80 and Route 10, providing easy access to Interstate 287, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike.
“The desire for value-add, for-sale multifamily properties has returned to its fever-pitch status,” Pomeranz said. “While land development remains almost impossible in high-building-density suburban bedroom communities, seasoned investors recognize the virtually limitless potential of implementing value-add strategies, which can and do transform an early-to-mid-20th-century property from its former glory to an at-market, ‘good-as-new’ icon.”
