Sean Ryan is associate editor for Real Estate New Jersey

PARSIPPANY, NJ-The Hampshire Cos. has acquired 8 Sylvan Way from the Chubb Institute for $7.6 million through its Hampshire Partners Fund VI investment fund. The 97,000-sf three-story building is on 15 acres of land close to I-287, I-80, Route 202 and Route 10.

"We became aware of this opportunity through a long-term relationship we have with the building's previous owner, who was an investor with Hampshire in other transactions and who wanted to sell the leasehold" says Norman A Feinstein, executive vice president of Hampshire. The building was owned by Parsippany Colonial Corp., with a leasehold made out to the similarly titled Colonial Parsippany Associates. "At the same time, we became aware of Chubb's desire to sell the land as excess real estate inventory." The deal was between Hampshire and Parsippany Colonial, with no involvement from brokers.

Chubb currently has a lease with the property until early 2007, but expected to move out before that date. It occupies roughly half of the building; the other half is vacant. Hampshire describes the building as "headquarters-quality." Hampshire's plan for the property is to "significantly modernize the property's appearance and reposition it in the marketplace as a single tenant headquarters or operations facility," Feinstein says. "We are actively seeking out well-located facilities such as this one that are attractive to, or currently under lease to, investment-grade tenants." Hampshire Partners Fund VI is expected to make $300 million in additional acquisitions in the next 24 months, Feinstein says.