655 Howard Ave. in the Somerset section of Franklin — Courtesy: Zimmel Associates
By Joshua Burd
Zimmel Associates has brokered the sale of a Somerset County industrial building for the second time in 10 months, following a series of upgrades by the property’s outgoing owner.
The real estate services firm represented the seller, Denholtz Associates, in the nearly $6.7 million transaction at 655 Howard Ave. in Franklin’s Somerset section. The buyer of the 75,000-square-foot building was Bytech International, an electronics accessories distributor.
Chuck Fern of Cushman & Wakefield represented the purchaser.
“This building has an exciting investment history and was recently renovated on a major scale,” said David Zimmel, CEO of Zimmel Associates. “This is the second sales transaction we have generated for 655 Howard Avenue in less than a year’s time.”
Jordan Zimmel, vice president of the Edison-based firm, presented 655 Howard Ave. to Denholtz as an investment opportunity about two years ago, according to a news release. At the time, the building was bank-owned as a result of foreclosure and had been vacant for more than a decade.
Denholtz acquired the property in May 2016 after assessing its renovation costs.
“Denholtz is a long-term client of our firm and we are always on the lookout for investment properties for our clients,” Jordan Zimmel said. “The building had groundwater environmental issues, but in today’s hot industrial market, it offered excellent potential for a knowledgeable, experienced developer.
“Denholtz was willing to take on the challenge and it has worked out exceptionally well for all parties.
In addition to environmental remediation, the building has improvements such as a new roof, a repaved parking lot, the addition of six new exterior tailboard-loading docks, a new sprinkler system, interior renovations and exterior painting.
When Denholtz sought to put the renovated building back on the market, Zimmel had offers for both lease and purchase within three weeks, the firm said.
