PARSIPPANY, NJ- This suburban office hub's long-suffering market has gotten a shot in the arm with the sale of Realogy's vacant former headquarters to a roofing manufacturer that will turn the structure into its new corporate headquarters.
The 377,000-square-foot building at 1 Campus Drive was picked up by Wayne-based GAF Materials Corp. for $8.3 million after a two-year search around the region for headquarters space, CBRE Group's Jeffrey Babikian tells GlobeSt.com. Brian Godau and Babikian brokered the deal.
The building was bought out of foreclosure, according to the listing broker, Thomas Dobrowski of Rockwood Real Estate Advisors.
The development company Normandy Partners took possession this week to begin major renovations to the interior that will create a “center core atrium providing a vibrant, collaborative Town Hall-type environment” for GAF's 1,000 employees, according to Babikian.
When the work is done, GAF will relocate from a sprawling, but aged, ten-building complex in Wayne it has occupied for more than three decades.
While Wayne officials expressed dismay Thursday at the news their community will experience another in a series of corporate leave-takings, Babikian emphasized how important the move is for the Morris County market.
“A tenant or a user of this caliber is a very big boost for the Parsippany market,” he says. CBRE's most recent report on the 14 million-square-foot Parsippany office market put the vacancy rate at 29%.
Earlier this year Ashland Inc. also relocated from Wayne to a different New Jersey site. The township has been in the throes of a political battle concerning how to rebuild its tax base.
“Our offices in Wayne, as well as this community, have been terrific for us for many years, and leaving here will be difficult,” said GAF's CEO Bob Tafaro in a statement Thursday. “However, the building in Parsippany offers us a modern office with improved work efficiencies which will allow us to continue to improve our services to our customers while providing room for future growth.”
GAF did not specify the timetable for its move.
Realogy, the corporate parent of residential real estate agencies Century 21, ERA, Coldwell Banker, and Sotheby's International Realty, moved to its built-to-suit “super-green” office in Madison last spring.
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.
