Hillcrest Court, located at 268 Prospect St. in East Orange
By Joshua Burd
Four apartment properties in Essex County have changed hands for a combined $18.35 million, following a series of transactions brokered by Gebroe-Hammer Associates.
The properties, which total 150 units, include a 45-unit building in East Orange known as Hillcrest Court. Located at 268 Prospect St., the three-story property is located less than a mile from the Brick Church and Watsessing rail stations.
“In the multifamily sector, buyers have returned to the ‘location, location, location’ investment mantra as long as properties are accompanied by ‘transit, transit, transit’ and solid walk scores,” said Gebroe-Hammer Managing Director David Oropeza, who specializes in East Orange.
In Irvington, the Gebroe-Hammer team of Executive Vice President David Jarvis and Senior Vice President Stephen Tragash represented the seller and procured the buyer of 20 units at 65 Headley Terrace. They noted the growing appeal of the township, as local officials in recent years have worked with private developers to improve the streetscape and building stock, with a focus on Nye and Springfield avenues and Irvington’s bus terminal.
“Irvington is poised for a renaissance much like its East Orange and Newark counterparts — a strategic location being the city’s greatest strength,” Jarvis said.
Jarvis also brokered the sale of nine units at 75 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Newark, which sits within a mile of the downtown and the Atlantic, Orange and Norfolk Street transit stops, Gebroe-Hammer said in a news release. The Newark Broad Street station is 1.4 miles away.
“This neighborhood attracted the buyer due to its unique location in the city’s quiet, historic Little Italy neighborhood near medical facilities, a 360-acre park and institutions for higher education,” said Jarvis, the firm’s Newark market specialist.
The brokerage also touted the sale of a 76-unit garden apartment complex in an unnamed western Essex County town. The brokerage team of President Ken Uranowitz, Managing Director Joseph Brecher and Senior Vice President Nicholas Nicolaou represented the seller and procured the buyer of a 1960s-era garden-style complex, which they said offered value-add potential through exterior and interior improvements.
“Over the next five years, New Jersey is expected to become home to even more young adults and empty nesters seeking apartment-style living,” Nicolaou said. “For long-time owners, it’s a good time to consider a property disposition.
“Demand for existing Class B properties throughout the entire northern New Jersey metro is reaching new benchmarks as the ‘gap’ between inner city complexes and outlying suburbs is closing thanks to the surge in infill locales.”
