The buyer of a .48-acre land site at 547-555 Main St. in Hackensack has proposed a 15,000-square-foot daycare center for the site, as depicted in this rendering by Jarmel Kizel Architects and Engineers — Courtesy: NAI James E. Hanson
By Joshua Burd
Plans for a new daycare center in Hackensack are moving forward after the sale of a nearly half-acre development site for the facility, according to a broker with NAI James E. Hanson.
The buyer, Yasmeen Fatima Property LLC, paid $1.5 million for the parcel at 547-555 Main St. The deal comes with site plan approval in place for the proposed 15,000-square-foot center, in a plan that would repurpose what was the longtime home of a family chiropractic center.
NAI Hanson’s Jonathan Kristofich represented the seller, while Devin Perez of Sotheby’s Prominent Properties represented the buyer.
“Finding suitable land sites for redevelopment in Hackensack is not an easy feat,” Kristofich said. “In this transaction, it was a pleasure to work with the longtime owner of the property in navigating them through the land entitlement process, which can be time consuming.
“All in all, the transaction took 54 weeks from contract signing to closing, inclusive of the due diligence period and approval process. Kudos to the buyer and Devin Perez for assembling the A-team of third-party professionals to complete the design of the building and submit to the zoning board in a timely fashion.”
According to NAI Hanson, the 0.48-acre site includes two separate lots, each improved by a two-and-a-half-story mixed-use building. The seller tapped Kristofich to market the property after operating a chiropractic center at the location for 40 years, prompting a match with a buyer who was interested in starting a new daycare business in Hackensack.
The broker noted that the Main Street parcel is close to some 2 million square feet of office space, The Shops at Riverside, Farleigh Dickinson University’s metropolitan campus, thousands of new luxury apartments, Route 4 and mass transit. He also cited Hackensack’s rapid population growth and its universal pre-K4 program for residents.
This spring, the buyer obtained site plan approval from the zoning board to build a new daycare center designed by Cheryl Schweiker, an associate at Jarmel Kizel Architects and Engineers.
“I welcomed the opportunity to provide a solution to accommodate a childcare center on this challenging site,” Schweiker said. “Safety and well-being for the end user as well as adhering to the strict guidelines of state licensing resulted in a facility that benefits the community.”
