Grand Lee Apartments at 159 Fort Lee Road in Leonia — Courtesy: Gebroe-Hammer Associates
By Joshua Burd
The longtime owner of an 80-unit garden apartment complex in Bergen County has sold the property for nearly $20 million, according to brokers with Gebroe-Hammer Associates.
Known as Grand Lee Apartments, the community at 159 Fort Lee Road in Leonia features a mix of one- and two-bedroom homes with private entrances, along with on-site parking and an adjacent commuter bus stop. The property traded to a private investor as part of an off-market deal brokered by Gebroe-Hammer Vice President Joseph Gehler and Sales Representative David Betesh, who represented Fairlawn CO in the $19.8 million sale.
“As a borough where more people ride the bus to work than nearly 97 percent of all neighborhoods nationwide — and Midtown Manhattan is only 13 miles away — the buyer sought to add Grand Lee Apartments to their portfolio because of its prime location, the ever-growing professional-caliber tenant base commuting to business and financial jobs in New York City and very tight multifamily housing supply in general, as compared to rental demand,” Gehler said.
Grand Lee Apartments, which sits near the busy intersection of Grand Avenue, is a short walk to the Broad Street Business District, according to a news release. Meantime, the brokers noted that Bergen County’s apartment stock consists of 48,877 market-rate units, amounting to 18.8 percent of the total northern New Jersey rental market, citing data from Reis and Moody’s.
“Over the next 24 to 36 months, Bergen County — with its nationally ranked public schools, excellent highway and transit connectivity and upper-income tenant base — is expected to add to its multifamily inventory with the rollout of a proposed 2,700+ units under construction,” said Betesh, the firm’s Bergen County market specialist. “New construction deliveries always bode well for existing property owners, presenting them with the opportunity to reposition their assets over the long term in order to cater to the lifestyle needs and expectations of the current renter base.”
