JERSEY CITY-In the final weeks of 2010, Gebroe-Hammer Associates recorded the largest Jersey City multifamily transaction of the year with the sale of a 10-building, 306-unit portfolio in the city’s Journal Square and Greenville districts. Ken Uranowitz, managing director, and sales associate Nicholas Nicolaou were named the exclusive brokers by the seller, Morningside Ridge LLC, and represented the buyer, a private local investor and longtime Gebroe-Hammer client.
The properties, which boasted an overall occupancy rate of 93% at the time of the $16.18-million sale, include 150 and 154-156 Belmont Ave.; 546 Bergen Ave.; 201 Claremont Ave.; 164 Clinton Ave.; 9, 11-13 and 15-21 Gifford Ave.; 35 Kensington Ave.; and 58 Van Reypen St. The mid-rise buildings offer a mix of apartment layouts, ranging from studios to four-bedroom units. Each also is centrally located within residential neighborhoods near schools, transportation, shopping and major office centers.
“The high concentration of these properties, which are within blocks of each other, made this portfolio an attractive acquisition from an overall investment and property management perspective because of the opportunity to combine administrative and property supervision resources,” Nicolaou tells GlobeSt.com. The buyer also plans to implement a renovation and modernization project to realize the upside potential of each building by achieving more competitive market rates.
“The sale of 10 buildings in a single transaction is extremely impressive because the majority of Jersey City apartment buildings are independently owned--often by families or private investors who have held the asset for decades--and typically trade on a one-off basis,” says Uranowitz. “The bid/ask gap is tightening as demand continues to exceed supply of for-sale properties. Multifamily properties in urban, transit-oriented locations are the investment ‘hypocenter’ because this is where the highest velocity of trades have occurred and will continue to increase throughout the upcoming year. With several additional deals throughout Northern New Jersey in the pipeline, Gebroe-Hammer is kicking off the new year at a record pace.”
Legal counsel was provided by Anthony Romano, Esq. of Connell Foley and Richard Kelin, Esq. of Feinstein, Raiss, Kelin & Booker LLC, on behalf of the seller and buyer, respectively. Elliot Treitel of Meridian Capital procured the financing on behalf of the buyer from a local regional bank.
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