Metropolitan Center, East Rutherford, NJ, left, with views of redesigned office and meeting space.

East Rutherford, NJ—In one of the most creative transactions of the year, Vision Properties has restacked and extended several key leases at the iconic Metropolitan Center in East Rutherford, NJ, maintaining the building's 100% occupancy.

The most noteworthy transaction is Hudson Group's expansion of its occupancy to 93,308 square feet while simultaneously extending its lease. Other key transactions include Aegis Insurance Services' trimming its space to 69,335 square feet while extending its lease, MWW Group's relocating to smaller space within the building, and Ameream's expansion of its allocation to 15,059 square feet. All of these transactions have lease terms ranging from 10 to 15 years.

“When we acquired the property in 2014, we knew that we had to be extremely creative in order to expand Hudson Group's lease or else we could risk losing them,” says Anthony Arena, principal of Vision Properties. “After intense negotiations involving seven parties, we were able to accommodate the needs of our tenants and maximize our investor's long term value.”

Vision Properties believes that Metropolitan Center is going to continue to experience strong leasing interest, as the soon-to-be-completed American Dream project will create one of the most amenity-rich office locations in suburban New Jersey at the property. To coincide with the improving location, Vision Properties is planning to renovate the lobby and café areas of the property to allow for a more contemporary design.

“This transaction is a testament to building's position as New Jersey's premier trophy tower asset,” says Gregory Barkan, an SVP with CBRE. “With vacancy rates still hovering in the mid-20% range in this submarket and throughout New Jersey as a whole, this building continues to remain 100% leased due to its dominant regional location, superb access to mass transit options and its host of first-class on-site amenities.”

Hudson Group was represented in the transaction by Raymond Trevisan and William O'Keefe of Cushman & Wakefield; Aegis Insurance was represented by John Feeney and George Martin of Savills Studley; and MWW Group was represented by Barry Zeller, Robert Rudin and David DeMatteis of Cushman & Wakefield. Vision Properties was represented by Barkan, Pat Murphy and Robert Norton of CBRE, as well as through in-house representation by Arena and William Bertolero.

Paul Newman of Kimmerle Newman Architects handled space planning.

Correction, 3/9/2016: Vision Properties provided updated photos of the property, which have replaced the photograph included with an earlier version of this story.

Metropolitan Center, East Rutherford, NJ, left, with views of redesigned office and meeting space.

East Rutherford, NJ—In one of the most creative transactions of the year, Vision Properties has restacked and extended several key leases at the iconic Metropolitan Center in East Rutherford, NJ, maintaining the building's 100% occupancy.

The most noteworthy transaction is Hudson Group's expansion of its occupancy to 93,308 square feet while simultaneously extending its lease. Other key transactions include Aegis Insurance Services' trimming its space to 69,335 square feet while extending its lease, MWW Group's relocating to smaller space within the building, and Ameream's expansion of its allocation to 15,059 square feet. All of these transactions have lease terms ranging from 10 to 15 years.

“When we acquired the property in 2014, we knew that we had to be extremely creative in order to expand Hudson Group's lease or else we could risk losing them,” says Anthony Arena, principal of Vision Properties. “After intense negotiations involving seven parties, we were able to accommodate the needs of our tenants and maximize our investor's long term value.”

Vision Properties believes that Metropolitan Center is going to continue to experience strong leasing interest, as the soon-to-be-completed American Dream project will create one of the most amenity-rich office locations in suburban New Jersey at the property. To coincide with the improving location, Vision Properties is planning to renovate the lobby and café areas of the property to allow for a more contemporary design.

“This transaction is a testament to building's position as New Jersey's premier trophy tower asset,” says Gregory Barkan, an SVP with CBRE. “With vacancy rates still hovering in the mid-20% range in this submarket and throughout New Jersey as a whole, this building continues to remain 100% leased due to its dominant regional location, superb access to mass transit options and its host of first-class on-site amenities.”

Hudson Group was represented in the transaction by Raymond Trevisan and William O'Keefe of Cushman & Wakefield; Aegis Insurance was represented by John Feeney and George Martin of Savills Studley; and MWW Group was represented by Barry Zeller, Robert Rudin and David DeMatteis of Cushman & Wakefield. Vision Properties was represented by Barkan, Pat Murphy and Robert Norton of CBRE, as well as through in-house representation by Arena and William Bertolero.

Paul Newman of Kimmerle Newman Architects handled space planning.

Correction, 3/9/2016: Vision Properties provided updated photos of the property, which have replaced the photograph included with an earlier version of this story.

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Steve Lubetkin

Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].