Slowdown Finally Takes Hold in North Jersey Office Market

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-The office market in Northern New Jersey isn’t exactly wide open. Far from it. But the wobbly national economy and Wall Street’s travails, coupled with several major mergers, has freed up a significant amount of sublet space and changed the tone of the market, at least for the short term, according to Donald P. Eisen of Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey, based here. Eisen is C&W’s executive managing director for the New York area.

“As major corporate players strive to gain market share and profitability, the landscape of New Jersey-based businesses is seeing significant changes,” according to Eisen. He points to the mergers of Honeywell and Allied Signal, Warner Lambert and Pfizer, and Philip Morris and Nabisco.

“The companies that remain in charge in those cases are based out of state,” he points out. “As a result, their real estate decisions could have a marked impact. At the same time, a number of companies find themselves with excess real estate holdings, and they’re looking to purge their property assets through subleases and dispositions.”