Page 8 - RENJ June 2021

6 JUNE 2021
THE BRIEFING
KBS SELLS WOODBRIDGE OFFICE CAMPUS FOR $88 MILLION
the shutdown, productivity has begun to dip as people have grown weary of working from home.
“Companies and their teams are looking forward to coming back to the office safely where they can do their best collaborative and creative work. Properties like Woodbridge Corporate Plaza represent the type of superior- quality, well-amenitized space these firms are seeking as they navigate their way back to the office.”
Newmark Executive Managing Director Kevin Welsh, Managing Director Brian
Schulz, Associate
and market-leading leasing velocity make it a rare investment opportunity in the area.”
KBS originally purchased the 629,189-square-foot business park in 2005, completing a multimillion-dollar renovation that upgraded its corridors, restrooms, flooring and lighting, with the addition of new entrance doors and signage opportunities for tenants, according to a news release. The property today is home to amenities such as a new 6,000-square-foot fitness center, a full-service café and caterer, an on-site management office and shuttle service to the Metropark transit hub.
“Northeast Capital Group recognized an extraordinary opportunity to acquire one of Metropark’s most desirable office parks,” said Stephen Close, asset manager for Woodbridge Corporate Plaza and senior vice president of KBS. “The renovations KBS completed at this property make this well-located asset even more attractive to existing and prospective tenants. This business park is an excellent addition to the buyer’s portfolio.”
Attorneys Bruce Fischer, Howard
Chu and paralegal Amanda Kennedy of Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Orange County office, together with attorney Steven Fleissig in the firm’s New Jersey office, represented KBS as legal counsel in the disposition.
apprenticeship program for Newark residents to provide on-the-job learning with the goal of increasing enrollment of city residents in union jobs.
“The redevelopment of the eight-
acre Bears Stadium site is the kind
of transformative project that comes along only a few times in a generation,” Baraka said. “The additional housing, space for entrepreneurs and small businesses plus retail gets us closer to our goal of a vital, exciting, walkable 24-hour downtown. Additionally,
the new construction training and apprenticeship component will open up well-paying union jobs for Newark residents and we will have made another giant step forward in our equitable growth strategy.”
The project, which will be built
under Newark’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, will now designate 5 percent of the units as on-site affordable housing, while incorporating a $15 million payment to the city’s affordable housing trust fund to produce new homes in neighborhoods outside of the downtown.
KBS has sold a nearly 630,000-square- foot office campus in Woodbridge for $88 million, in a transaction arranged by Newmark’s New Jersey-based capital markets team.
The private equity firm, which
is based in Southern California, completed its sale of Woodbridge Corporate Plaza more than 15 years after acquiring the six-building complex. Northeast Capital Group
of Ramapo, New York, purchased
the property, which is located at 485 Route 1 South in the township’s Iselin section.
KBS touted the deal as a sign of continued investor confidence in well-located suburban office buildings, despite the effects of the pandemic, and the appeal of the site’s proximity to major highways and the Metropark train station.
“The office market is poised for recovery as we move out of this health and economic crisis,” said Marc DeLuca, KBS’ Eastern region president. “We’ve heard from numerous tenants that they are eager to return to the workplace after many months of working remotely. During
Jason Emrani
and Transaction
Manager Maria
Betancourt,
along with
support from
the firm’s Jamie Drummond,
represented KBS in the sale.
Kevin Welsh
Woodbridge Corporate Plaza at 485 Route 1 South in the Iselin section of Woodbridge
DEVELOPER ACQUIRES, DETAILS PLAN FOR NEWARK STADIUM SITE
“Woodbridge Corporate Plaza has seen close to a half million square
feet of leasing velocity since January 2017,” Welsh said. “The property is
90 percent leased to a diverse base
of 64 tenants with investment-grade anchors, providing stable cash flow and staggered rollover. Moreover, this asset offers Northeast Capital Group
a secure income stream with strong cash-on-cash returns at an attractive basis. The property’s dynamic location
Builders, who hopes to begin the first phase within nine to 12 months. His Lakewood-based firm recently bought the property with the help
of an acquisition loan from Madison Realty Capital, which was arranged by Meridian Capital Group, with legal representation from Gibbons PC.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka hailed the updated plan for the site, which at one point was slated
A developer has closed on the former Riverfront Stadium property in Newark, where plans call for 4,200 residential units and other uses under a newly updated project by city officials.
An affiliate of Accurate Builders
& Developers purchased the site, located west of McCarter Highway between Bridge and Division streets, after securing local approval for an amended redevelopment agreement. The firm is now eyeing a nine-phase project that will include market-rate
and affordable housing, along with up to 3,000 parking spaces, at least 100,000 square feet of hospitality or destination retail, co-working space and publicly accessible green space.
The property, the former home of the Newark Bears minor league baseball club, is adjacent to light rail service and across the street from the city’s Broad Street station.
“It’s going to transform the city,” said Jack Klugmann, CEO of Accurate
for up to 2,000 apartments, large- and small- scale retail,
a hotel and 2 million square feet of office space under a proposal by Lotus
A concept rendering of Accurate Builders & Developers’ redevelopment of the former Riverfront Stadium property in Newark
Equity Group. Along with additional housing and new uses, the new-look project calls for Accurate Builders to pay prevailing wages on 10 percent of the construction costs, ensuring the use of union and local labor.
A second new feature is the developer’s creation of a training, retention and
Ras Baraka
Courtesy: City of Newark/Lessard Design Courtesy: KBS