"Properties within the 18- to 75-unit range are the backbone of the multifamily investment market right now," says Ken Uranowitz, managing director of locally based Gebroe-Hammer, in a statement announcing the deals. "Northern New Jersey is a hotbed of investment activity due to the high concentration of existing multifamily properties as well as a tenant base primarily comprised of young professionals whose lifestyle needs are driven by location and proximity to New York City and other key urban centers."
In the largest trade, a long-time client of the firm paid $5.1 million for three properties in Union City located at 2100-2102 and 2104-2110 Kennedy Blvd., as well as 928-930 21st St. Uranowitz, along with Scott Callahan, vice president, represented the seller, a New Jersey-based investment group.
Built in 1913, the Kennedy Boulevard properties' 47 residences and three retail shops are located a half-block from 928-930 21st St., a 21-unit, four-story walk-up property. Legal advice was provided by Anthony Romano and Larry Raiss on behalf of the seller and buyer, respectively.
Uranowitz and Callahan also arranged the separate all-cash trades of 18 units at 63 and 67 Kennedy Blvd. in Bayonne in Hudson County for $1 million, as well as 22 one-bedroom units at 42 Park Ave. in Bloomfield in Essex County for $1.6 million. The two-building Kennedy Boulevard garden-apartment complex, featuring a mix of studio and one-bedroom units, closed within 30 days of contract signing. Attorney Al Habjan represented the seller, Bayonne Associates LLC, and attorney Pat Agresti advised the undisclosed buyer.
"Existing apartment buildings, which were built in the pre-war era, have become the commercial real estate investment of choice among lenders, seasoned investors and those whose portfolios were once limited to offices, warehouses and/or shopping centers," Uranowitz says.
In Bloomfield, the buyer, 42 Park Avenue Associates LLC, obtained a new first mortgage on the three-story, all-brick building, which was 98%-occupied at the time of sale. Larry Slous and Joseph Behot served as legal counsel for the seller and buyer.
In Union County, Gebroe-Hammer's EVP Joel Schwartz and Stephen Tragash, sales associate, represented the seller, 511 North LLC, and procured the buyer, a client of the firm, in the $1.5-million trade of 511 North Ave., a 22-unit, three-story complex in Elizabeth. Legal counsel was provided by Tom Cohn on behalf of the seller.
"As the fourth largest city in New Jersey, Elizabeth is yet another example of a transit hub market where investors are aggressively vying for multifamily properties once they come on line," adds Schwartz, who notes area occupancy rates are 97%.
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