EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ-In yet another nine-figure sale of a New Jersey trophy office property, an affiliate of KBS REIT has acquired the 421,317-square-foot Metropolitan Center here for $104.9 million, says CBRE's New York Institutional Group, which collaborated with CBRE’s Saddle Brook office to represent seller CBRE Global Investors and procured the buyer. The cap rate was about 8%.
Over its two years of ownership, CBRE Strategic Partners instituted a major improvement program at the building, with leasing increasing from 72% to 98% percent at the time of the sale. Tenants include AEGIS Insurance, Hudson News, MWW Group, Cushman & Wakefield and Michael Kors. The property was on the market for approximately four months.
“They have good long-term leases,” with the average having about 8.5 years remaining, says Jeffrey Dunne of the New York Institutional Group. “People want safety and this is a safe building.”
Dunne, Kevin Welsh and Brian Schulz of CBRE's New York Institutional Group worked with Don Sperling of CBRE's Saddle Brook office. The new owner has retained CBRE for the leasing and management of the property.
The LEED Gold-certified, 15-story office building is located immediately opposite the MetLife Stadium (home of NFL's Giants and Jets). It offers shuttle service to Secaucus Junction, a major transfer station for trains to and from Manhattan and Hoboken and other New Jersey locations.
The Met Center sale follows on the heels of the $378 million sale of Newport Tower by the CBRE team in October, the largest single office building sale ever in New Jersey.
“It’s the better assets people want,” Dunne says. “It’s the better assets that are getting better prices.”
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
