Developers are responding to rising demand in these areas as more than 19,000 units are underway across the region. As neighborhoods in the area continue urban revitalization efforts, tenants will be drawn to the vibrant and growing region, filling new apartments at a steady clip.

Among the key trends:

• Investor demand for multifamily assets in Northern New Jersey remains strong as buyers expand searches across the region. Robust property performance helped boost the number of transactions in the past year as investors focused on stable cash flows.
• Buyers in search of value-add opportunities have been acquiring assets in Essex and Passaic counties. Properties here trade at a discount to the market average price and change hands with an initial yield often above six percent.
• Nearly half of transactions over the past four quarters occurred in Hudson County as more investors desired to own in the area's amenity-rich neighborhoods with transit connectivity to Manhattan. Going-in cap rates in the county fell in the upper-4 to low-6 percent territory and were commonly 100 basis points greater than comparable assets in New York City.

Deal Tracker Daily

CHELSEA, MA—Burgess Properties, with David Corkery and Bruce Lusa of CBRE New England, has brokered the $3.675 million sale of 200 Second Street, Chelsea, MA, to Baywood Hotels. 200 Second Street is a 25,500 square-foot industrial building on one acre directly across Second Street from Chelsea's Mystic Mall. The existing building will be demolished to make way for the construction of a 106-room Hampton Inn by Hilton. Steve Nohrden of Burgess Properties represented the buyer, and David Corkery of CBRE New England represented the Seller, 200 Second Street Trust.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Harman Group, a firm specializing in structural engineering and parking planning and design, designed The Aloft Philadelphia Downtown, a 179-room hotel coming to North Broad Street. The hotel, which is part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts group, is an adaptive-reuse project occupying the historic Liberty Title and Trust building just one block from City Hall. Nearly 90 years old, The Liberty Title and Trust building, designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm Savery & Scheetz, was originally a bank headquarters before its final tenure as an office building for the Philadelphia Water Department. Outside of retail space on the first floor, the building has been vacant for over 20 years.

PHILADELPHA, PA—The Kislak Company arranged the $4.9 million sale of BridgeView at Manayunk, a 22-unit, class-A apartment building located at 171 Grape Street in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, PA. Sales associate Anthony Palmiotto marketed the property on an exclusive basis, representing both the seller and purchaser. Senior vice president Matt Weilheimer provided transaction management and support. Erected in 1918, the 22,000 square-foot, four-story elevator building was renovated in 2010. The building is fully sprinklered and includes 16 one-bedroom and 6 two-bedroom apartments with 27 onsite parking spaces.

NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ—Levin Management Corporation has signed six leases with wireless network operator T-Mobile in recent months at New Jersey and Pennsylvania properties within its management portfolio. The wireless voice and data communications services provider inked leases at Hamilton Plaza (2,600 square feet) in Hamilton Township, Fairground Plaza (2,400 square feet) in Mount Holly, Rutgers Plaza (2,000 square feet) in Franklin Township, Hartford Corners (1,900 square feet) in Delran and Twin City Shopping Center (1,500 square feet) in Jersey City, N.J.; and Fairlane Village Mall (1,065 SF) in Pottsville, Pa. According to Joseph Lowry, Levin's senior vice president of leasing and acquisitions, the commitments underscore the firm's significant relationships with prominent national retail brands, as well as the value these relationships bring to Levin's landlord clients.

Money Moves

Burlington, MA – In partnership with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the City of Boston, 3^rd Ave Burlington held a “Help for Houston” Drive on Thursday, August 31. Thousands of individuals and businesses from surrounding communities donated items in need that filled six truck loads which were then delivered to Boston for shipping to Houston. Volunteers from Cassidy Corp, Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Police Department, and Nordblom Company helped sort, box, and load the items. Donated items were delivered to Boston by local asphalt contractor Cassidy Corp., where they joined items collected by the City of Boston's “Help for Houston” Drive to be shipped to Texas. Local companies including Wegmans, Jenny Boston, Archer Hotel, and Scrum all made substantial donations to the 3^rd Ave Burlington drive.

WEST NYACK, NY—McLaren Engineering Group named Stephen Famularo, PE, as Director of Marine Engineering. Famularo is a diver with more than two decades of diverse experience in port and harbor engineering. Previously, he worked as chief project manager for COWI North America, where he led waterfront inspection, design and rehabilitation projects for public and private clients throughout the US, with a specific focus on the New York and New Jersey harbor region. He holds an MS degree in Coastal Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Manhattan College. Famularo is also a certified Port Engineer through the American Society of Civil Engineers' Academy of Coasts, Oceans, Port and Navigation Engineers.

BROOKLYN, NY—SG Blocks, a designer, innovator and fabricator of container-based structures, named Tim Kennedy Vice President Sales. Kennedy has an extensive 30-year career in the pipeline construction industry. Previously, he was manager of business development at Ameron International, a manufacturer of concrete/steel pressure pipe and a division of National Oilwell Varco.