Cushman & Wakefield Leasing 55 Challenger Road, Building with Banking History

55 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, has been a bank operations center for Summit Bank, FleetBoston Financial Corporation (which acquired Summit in 2000), and Bank of America, which bought Fleet in 2003.

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ—Cushman & Wakefield will handle leasing of the building that once housed bank check processing operations of Summit Bank , its successor, FleetBoston Financial , and Fleet’s acquirer, Bank of America . The KABR Group and Kushner Companies retained Cushman & Wakefield to lease 55 Challenger Road , a 302,000-square-foot, six-story class A office building in Ridgefield Park. The commercial real estate services firm’s Morristown, NJ-based team of Raymond Trevisan, William O’Keefe and Kelsey Nakamura , along with East Rutherford, NJ-based Christian Politan , are heading the assignment. The building was home to an operations center and check processing facility for Summit Bank , once New Jersey’s largest commercial bank until its October 2000 acquisition by FleetBoston Financial Corporation , which kept regional operations in the building until Fleet itself was acquired by Bank of America in 2003. “This well-located and highly visible property is situated within Overpeck Centre , a 60-acre development with mixed uses and superior amenities,” says O’Keefe . “Constructed in 1990 and substantially renovated by KABR in 2014, 55 Challenger Road currently has 150,000 square feet available. With opportunities from 3,000 square feet up to the full 150,000 square feet, it can accommodate any size requirement that’s currently in the market.” The building’s on-site amenities include a full-service cafeteria, gym with shower and lockers, on-site management, 24/7 manned security desk and covered executive parking. The surrounding Overpeck Centre development includes a five-star Hilton Garden Inn and AMC Theatre , and is adjacent to the 150-acre Overpeck County Park . It has direct access to and visibility from the New Jersey Turnpike, I-80 and Route 46, and is just minutes from the Lincoln Tunnel, George Washington Bridge and Newark Liberty International Airport. “We chose Cushman & Wakefield for this assignment because of the firm’s strong track record in this marketplace,” says Trent Taylor , vice president of commercial real estate of the Ridgefield Park-based KABR Group . “We’re very confident that our partnership on this property will quickly bear results and expand the existing high grade tenant roster.” “Given 55 Challenger Road’s premier location, amenities and surrounding mixed uses, we anticipate strong demand for its availabilities, especially given the current upswing in the office market,” says O’Keefe . The balance of the office space in Overpeck Centre is currently 95 percent occupied, further supporting its desirable location.