"We're leveraging the proceeds on the sale of these properties to strategically realign our portfolio," says Meyer Orbach, president and CEO of the Orbach Group. The proceeds will enhance our ability to expand into the Manhattan real estate market."

Orbach effectively entered the Manhattan market earlier this year when it bought 13 buildings with a total of 254 apartments and a number of storefronts along West 49th Street. The company also remains active in the New Jersey market, including its recent $12-million acquisition of the 144-unit Miry Run Apartments in Hamilton.

The three New Jersey buildings just sold, built in the 1960s and '70s and 98% occupied at the time of the sale, are located at 107 Hudson St. in Hackensack, 440 Liberty St. in Little Ferry and 57 Park Brook Gardens in Middlesex. The properties had been in Orbach's portfolio for just more than a year, having been acquired in 2007 as part of a $45-million, 13-building package.