1 Parkway in Wallington — Courtesy: Gebroe-Hammer Associates
By Joshua Burd
More than 130 apartments in Bergen, Essex and Union counties have changed hands for a combined $18.18 million, following a series of transactions by Gebroe-Hammer Associates.
The brokerage firm on Tuesday announced more than a dozen sales, touting a continued appetite for multifamily buildings in northern New Jersey. They include deals in Wallington, Ridgefield Park, Newark and Plainfield, which represents a mix of urban and suburban opportunities.
“Rents throughout the North Jersey Metro continue their advance, in terms of both asking and effective rents, and are expected to do so through year-end 2020 and beyond,” said Ken Uranowitz, Gebroe-Hammer’s president. “While the metro-wide development cycle finally reaches its peak at the close of this year, a balanced market and leveled off occupancies will be the end result.
“New construction has and will continue to render Class B/C product — long regarded as far more affordable and the ‘fixer-uppers’ — more expensive in terms of property values and rent appreciation rates due to the value-add factor.”
The firm’s recent sales in Bergen County involve properties Wallington and Ridgefield Park with a combined 48 units. In the former, Executive Vice President Greg Pine and Vice President Gehane Triarsi represented the seller and procured the buyer of a newly built, 33-unit riverfront complex at 1 Parkway, which sold for $6.65 million.
“This property posed an almost unheard of multifamily investment opportunity for Bergen County, with its new construction and high-end apartment and community amenities,” Pine said. “Situated in the county’s southwest quadrant, 1 Parkway is less than 13 miles from Midtown Manhattan and a popular choice among the area’s commuter residential base.”
In the Ridgefield Park deal, Senior Vice President Debbie Pomerantz arranged the $2.4 million sale of a four-story, 15-unit property at 82 Brinkerhoff St.
In Newark, Executive Vice President David Jarvis represented the sellers and procured the buyers of two separate properties: 387 4th Ave. and 409 Summer Ave.
“Long-awaited revitalization initiatives are feeding an economic infusion in the state’s most-populous city, rendering multi-family one of the hottest investments in Newark today,” Jarvis said.
Gebroe-Hammer also highlighted a deal in Plainfield, where Vice President Adam Zweibel collaborated with Triarsi on the sale of a four-property, 57-unit package. The properties, which sold for $6.23 million, are located at 122-138 East 7th St. and 985-1003 Park Ave.
“Throughout the entire North Jersey Metro, municipalities seem to be asking themselves one common question: what can we do to remain economically sound over the long term?” Uranowitz said. “The answer: refresh, reinvent and attract the millennial and empty-nester renter base. Multifamily investing has been and always will be the catalyst for change and longevity in the greater metro area.”