The Powerhouse, an amenities center at The Crossings at Jefferson Park, in the Whippany section of Hanover — Courtesy: Vision Real Estate Partners
By Joshua Burd
A joint venture has sold a 525,000-square-foot office park in Hanover to Barclays PLC for $69 million, following efforts to reposition the property with a series of upgrades and a new amenities center.
That’s according to a published report Sunday by Dow Jones Newswires, which said the financial giant plans to establish a new operations center at what’s known as The Crossings at Jefferson Park, located in the town’s Whippany section. The report said Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners acquired the campus in 2012 for $25 million, investing more than $10 million in upgrades such as a new bike-sharing service, walking trails and landscaping.
Reports of the deal come after Barclays Services Corp., a subsidiary of Barclays PLC, was approved for a $40 million state tax credit in connection with a proposed move to Whippany. The state Economic Development Authority, which awarded the 10-year incentive last month, said the company sought to relocate 900 of its investment banking back office support staff from its current location in New York City and was weighing options that included acquiring the Hanover location and an alternate facility in Hamilton, Ohio.
A Barclays spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires that the company plans “to create a world-class campus for our technology, operations and functional teams in the U.S.”
Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein over the past year have in fact touted the completion of the improvements at 115 South Jefferson Road, including the conversion of a former powerhouse structure into a standalone, 11,000-square-foot amenities center with enhanced gourmet food services, a multifunction lounge, conference room and a health and wellness center. The firms have since launched similar upgrades at another office park they own in Warren.
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“Leveraging what we’ve learned and the positive feedback we’ve gotten at Crossings, we feel this is something we absolutely want to incorporate in properties of this scale going forward,” said Sam Morreale, Vision Real Estate Partners’ founder and managing partner, said last month. “So it’s just a continuation of the culture that we want to provide to our tenants at these buildings.”
The EDA said the move by Barclays would have a net benefit to the state of $509 million over 20 years.
For more, see Sunday’s story by Dow Jones Newswires.
