Bergen/Essex County, N.J. – The persistent pursuit of high-quality, appreciating multi-family properties continues in North Jersey where Gebroe-Hammer Associates recently recorded two nine-digit sales within a one-week span totaling $230 million and 1,002 units. The transactions involved Cedar Wright Gardens, located at 77 Mary St. in Lodi (Bergen County), and Nob Hill Apartments, accessible from Eisenhower Parkway at 28 Nob Hill Rd., in Roseland (Essex County).
In both transactions, the brokerage team of Ken Uranowitz, President, and Greg Pine, Executive Vice President, exclusively represented the sellers and Managing Director Joseph Brecher and Senior Vice President Nicholas Nicolaou procured the buyers of the Lodi and Roseland assets, respectively.
“2016 proved to be a year in which original owner/builders and decades-long owners, who never considered selling, took advantage of extremely heated market demand for multi-family product. These industry ‘veterans’ know, from past experience, this is a cyclical business and the curtain may be coming down soon on sub 4% interest rates,” said Uranowitz. “Bidding on existing for-sale properties is becoming even more competitive and aggressive as investors continue to seek Class A and B capital improvement opportunities that offer long-term rent appreciation and a greater return on investment.”
Known for their high visibility and distinguished presence within two of the most-densely populated counties in the greater New York MSA, Cedar Wright Gardens and Nob Hill are poised for value-add repositioning under new ownership. Both appeal to the region’s professional and executive-level tenant base associated with their strategic location in transit-based commuter hubs near retail, dining and lifestyle conveniences.
In the Lodi sale, Gebroe-Hammer represented the seller, Cedar Wright Gardens LP, and identified the buyer, Cedar Wright Apartments LLC. The 642-unit garden-style apartment complex has been a fixture within the Roosevelt/Terhune/Passaic Avenue district since the seller acquired the property in 1952.
The neighborhood is now undergoing extensive redevelopment associated with the opening of Wesmont Station, a rail station that launched operations in May 2016. Newly constructed mixed-use buildings, including luxury residential housing units, high-end retail shops, first-class offices and dining establishments rising at the former Curtiss Wright airplane factory site, surround the station.
“The introduction of newly constructed multi-family product in the area is having a positive influence on existing garden and low-, mid- and high-rise assets like Cedar Wright Gardens, bolstering market fundamentals and fueling heavy demand,” said Pine.
On the heels of the Cedar Wright Gardens sale was the $130 million trade of Nob Hill Apartments, a sprawling 360-unit garden-style community in suburban West Essex County. In addition to offering a broad selection of apartment-home layouts, community spaces and facilities, Nob Hill’s prominent profile is linked to its superior, picturesque location tucked into the base of a low-rise mountain.
“Investors are clamoring for assets like Nob Hill where they can expand upon in-place capital improvements to augment existing amenities – and even expand upon them – in order to appeal to the area’s urban-sophisticate tenant base,” said Nicolaou. “This particular demographic wants a combination of luxury suburban and semi-urban living, with proximity to outdoor recreation, shopping and dining.”
Like Cedar Wright Gardens, Nob Hill offers ease of access to a vast local, regional and national highway infrastructure as well as mass transit options that include NJ Transit bus and nearby rail service. Long recognized as popular bedroom communities of New York City, Lodi and Roseland are 18 and 21 miles from Manhattan, respectively.
Gebroe-Hammer is the leading multi-family investment sales brokerage firm in New Jersey and the entire tri-state region. In 2016, the firm closed more than 132 deals involving 12,117 total units sold for $1.83+ billion while concentrating on suburban and urban high-rise and garden-apartment properties throughout the Northeast and nationally. Gebroe-Hammer also markets mixed-use and free-standing office and retail properties. Widely recognized for its consistent sales performance, the firm is a 13-time CoStar Power Broker.
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