204 Berkeley Ave. in Bloomfield — Courtesy: Gebroe-Hammer Associates
By Joshua Burd
A private investor has purchased a 39-unit apartment building in southeastern Bloomfield, under a newly announced deal by Gebroe-Hammer Associates.
Brokers with the firm represented an undisclosed seller and procured the buyer in the trade of 204 Berkeley Ave., a collection of one- and two-bedroom homes in the town’s Franklin Street and Watsessing Avenue neighborhood. The transaction is the second time since late last year that the property changed hands, with Gebroe-Hammer also brokering the earlier sale.
The firm’s David Jarvis, executive vice president, and Ken Uranowitz, president, completed the assignment. Terms were not disclosed.
“As a result of 204 Berkeley Apartments’ outstanding connectivity to employment centers in Manhattan and throughout northern New Jersey, as well as proximity to the area’s abundant experiential/lifestyle amenities, Bloomfield and the entire East Essex (and) Southwest Passaic County submarket appeal to a diverse tenant base of upwardly mobile career starters, executives and well-educated empty-nesters,” said Jarvis, who noted the property was fully occupied at the time of sale.
Built in 1928 and continually updated, 204 Berkeley is 17 miles from Midtown Manhattan within what Gebroe-Hammer described as an upper-income neighborhood with a high population density. It also sits at the crossroads of the Garden State Parkway and the Route 46 and Route 3 interchange, providing easy access to a host of other highways.
Residents also benefit from nearby mass transit options, including NJ Transit bus service to Newark Penn Station and rail service at Watsessing Avenue Station along the Montclair-Boonton Line to Hoboken Terminal and New York Penn Station.
“In Bloomfield, much of the overall housing stock was built prior to World War II, which makes it one of the older, more historic townships in the nation,” Uranowitz said. “As such, existing multifamily properties like 204 Berkeley Apartments dominate the housing landscape and have tremendous appeal among an evolving renter base that now includes an influx of young, single, educated and upwardly mobile professionals. Walkability, nearby conveniences and affordability have fed this pipeline across the entire East Essex County corridor in recent years.”
