1095 Morris Ave. in Union — Courtesy: HFF
By Joshua Burd
The owner of a Union office building is refinancing the property for $11 million after recently completing a series of renovations, brokerage firm HFF said Thursday.
Representing the landlord, Lamar Cos., HFF said it secured the floating-rate loan for the 146,779-square-foot property at 1095 Morris Ave. Malvern Federal Savings Bank, based in Philadelphia, was the lender in the deal.
The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by managing director Michael Klein.
Known as Liberty Hall II, the 34 percent leased building is directly across from Kean University in Union and four miles from the Garden State Parkway and interstates 78, 95 and 287, HFF said. Lamar Cos. purchased the property in 2013 and embarked on a series of a renovations, including a new lobby, new entrance, new fitness center, café and multimedia room.
The firm also upgraded the HVAC system and replaced the roof.
Tenants at Liberty Hall II include M+W Energy Inc., Mindlance, Oriel STAT A MATRIX, MLB Residential Lending and SS&C.
“After revising its leasing strategy to focus on smaller tenants, Lamar has started to see significant leasing velocity at Liberty Hall II,” Klein said in a prepared statement. “Malvern was very familiar with the property’s location, comfortable with the overall office submarket and understood Lamar’s vision for the building.
“As a result, the bank was able to provide a very competitive rate and structure that would enable the borrower to execute its business plan and get Liberty Hall stabilized.”