Woodbridge Corporate Plaza at 485 Route South in the Iselin section of Woodbridge — Courtesy: KBS/Newmark Knight Frank
By Joshua Burd
KBS is seeking a buyer for a six-building, 630,000-square-foot office complex in Woodbridge, according to the private equity real estate firm and brokers with Newmark Knight Frank.
The sprawling property, Woodbridge Corporate Plaza, sits at 485 Route South and is 90 percent leased. The Newport Beach, California-based owner is now marketing the campus for sale after acquiring it in 2005, touting a series of recent upgrades and its location at the nexus of three interstate highways.
The firm has tapped NKF’s Kevin Welsh, Brian Schulz and Jason Emrani as its exclusive advisers and representatives for the sale.
“KBS is well-known for identifying the highest-quality properties in the epicenter of key growth markets throughout the country,” said Marc DeLuca, the firm’s regional president for the eastern United States. “The central New Jersey submarket of Metropark, with proximity to New York City, is a pivotal suburban market, and Woodbridge Corporate Plaza has proven itself to be a strong asset for our client portfolio.”
Ownership recently completed renovations that include new modern lobbies and restrooms, upgraded flooring and lighting, new entrance doors and new signage opportunities for tenants, according to a news release. The 629,190-square-foot property also has amenities such as a new 6,000-square-foot fitness center, an on-site full-service café and caterer, on-site management and shuttle service to the Metropark transit hub.
Welsh, an executive managing director with NKF, noted that Woodbridge Corporate Plaza is Metropark’s most actively leased property, with 458,071 square feet of leasing velocity since January 2017. He added that the complex is home to a diverse tenant base with investment-grade anchors such as BNP Paribas, Progressive Insurance and Middlesex Water, providing stable cash flow and staggered rollover.
“Moreover, this asset offers investors a secure income stream with strong cash-on-cash returns at an attractive basis,” Welsh said. “The property’s dynamic location and market-leading leasing velocity make it a rare investment opportunity.”
Woodbridge Corporate Plaza is roughly a half-mile from the Metropark train station, which is a major stop for both NJ Transit and Amtrak. A bus operates during peak commuting periods from the station to office buildings in the immediate area, including the KBS property.
The investment firm is now looking to sell the property for a second time after previously owning it from 1996 to 1998. The offering also comes six months after a KBS affiliate sold another large New Jersey office campus — the six-building, 1.19 million-square-foot Park Avenue at Morris County in Florham Park — for $311 million.
KBS touts 51,000 sq. ft. in leasing activity at Woodbridge office complex
