Centra at 186 Wood Ave. South in Iselin — Courtesy: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates/Cushman & Wakefield
By Joshua Burd
Opal Holdings LLC has tapped Avison Young as its leasing agent at an office building in Woodbridge, marking the firms’ latest collaboration in the Metropark submarket.
The assignment comes just a few months after the investment firm, which is based in Manhattan, purchased the 110,500-square-foot Centra property at 186 Wood Ave. South in the township’s Iselin section. Avison Young’s Jeffrey Heller and William McCaffrey will now look to draw new tenants to the complex, which is about 89 percent leased.
Opal Holdings, the owner of several high-end office buildings in Metropark, recently tapped Avison Young to spearhead a multimillion-dollar upgrade at nearby 194 Wood Ave. South, a 470,692-square-foot tower that it purchased from AIG for $140 million.
“We’re thrilled to continue to work with Opal Holdings at another Metropark building as the firm executes its investment strategy across opportunistic office properties in northern New Jersey,” said Heller, an Avison Young principal and managing director of its New Jersey offices. “By proactively engaging tenants and modernizing its portfolio, Opal is creating office environments that employees want to return to in some of the region’s top performing markets.”
McCaffrey, a principal with AY, added that the Woodbridge submarket has rebounded quickly since the start of the pandemic, registering 332,000 square feet in net absorption since the start of 2021.
“With its positive market fundamentals and high quality of ownership, Centra is poised for continued leasing success,” he said.
The recent sale of Centra came a decade after The Hampshire Cos. stripped the building to its steel and reconstructed it with a new upscale design crafted by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, attracting tenants such as JPMorgan Chase, Mass Mutual Life Insurance and Grant Thornton.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Avison Young and have witnessed firsthand its track record of successful building lease ups and ability to navigate evolving market conditions, which made the firm the clear choice for the assignment,” said Brian Haimm, Opal’s chief financial officer. “Centra was an excellent addition to our portfolio that aligned with our approach of acquiring well-located properties with value-add potential.”
