Harborside 5 at 185 Hudson St. (foreground) in Jersey City — File photo/Courtesy: CBRE
By Joshua Burd
The 601W Cos. has landed $65 million in financing for its acquisition of Jersey City’s nearly 1 million-square-foot Harborside 5 office tower.
The Manhattan-based lender, Northwind Group, announced this week that it provided the first mortgage, senior secured acquisition loan through its closed-end debt fund. The deal capitalizes $45 million for 601W’s acquisition of the property from Veris Residential Inc., which went under contract in January, while providing the borrower with additional funds for its leasing efforts at the 34-story, 977,225-square-foot building at 185 Hudson St.
Northwind noted that 601W is a repeat client, having provided it with a $60 million bridge loan in 2021 for a 690,000-square-foot office building in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The investment firm repaid the debt with a construction loan.
Mark Karasick, managing member of 601W Companies, said he was “delighted to join forces once again with Northwind, which wrapped their arms around the transaction quickly and whose execution was flawless.”
“We are very excited about the rapid growth and development of Jersey City and look forward to great leasing success,” Karasick said.
The Harborside 5 deal follows 601W’s acquisition last year of buildings Harborside 1, 2 and 3, also from Veris Residential. The firm has since launched a multimillion-dollar update of the nearly 2 million-square-foot property that will refresh the interconnecting atrium and add new amenities.
CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield brokered both transactions. According to Veris Residential’s fourth-quarter earnings release, Harborside 5 was 34.6 percent leased at the time, including 42,964 square feet that is expiring this year and 28,856 square feet expiring in 2025.
“We are pleased to partner once again with 601W Companies, which reinforces our commitment to expanding our relationships with repeat, high-quality sponsors,” said Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner of Northwind Group. “Despite the challenges in today’s office market, the very attractive basis of this acquisition coupled with recent institutional leasing velocity in Jersey City gives us confidence in the potential of this Class A office building, which is a strong value-proposition for businesses looking to upgrade their space. This is the first office loan we felt comfortable issuing in the last three years and the loan’s attractive basis fits well within our funds’ investment risk profile and loan diversification strategy.”
Veris under contract to sell Harborside 5, its final office building, for $85 million
