320-322 Central Ave. in Jersey City — Courtesy: Grid Real Estate
By Joshua Burd
An investor has picked up 10 apartments and two retail spaces with its purchase of a two-building portfolio in Jersey City, according to a broker with Grid Real Estate.
The purchaser, Central Avenue Holdings LLC, paid $3.8 million for the properties at 320-322 Central Ave. in the Jersey City Heights neighborhood. Grid’s Gregory D. Edgell brokered the transaction, citing the portfolio’s location in the city’s Central Avenue Business District and proximity to a planned 400-stall parking garage, a new municipal complex and higher-density development.
Edgell, who noted that the portfolio also includes one antenna array, added that the buyer came to Jersey City from the garment business in Central Jersey and sought to acquire value-add opportunities where its retail experience would give it an edge as an investor. The transaction price equates to $282 per square foot or $316,000 per unit, with an in-place capitalization rate of 5 percent.
“In an inflationary interest rate environment where rate locks are a thing of the past, this transaction took finesse from all parties to get it over the finish line,” Edgell said. “There was considerable interest on this site due to the upside potential from the retail rents, large legacy rent-controlled apartments and redevelopment potential. Central Avenue continues to see adaptive reuse projects as well as ground up development which has brought fresh capital to this historically overlooked corridor. Rents are up across the city and Central Avenue is no exception.”
