Developer forms resi division, launching two luxury rental projects in Ridgewood

Onyx Equities announced last week the formation of a residential arm, Onyx Living, in anticipation of two ground-up rental complexes in Bergen County coming to market, NJBiz reported. The Woodbridge-based developer, one of the largest in New Jersey, said that Onyx Living will oversee the development and management of Ridgewood Station Luxury Apartments at 1 Franklin Avenue and The Enclave at Ridgewood. The properties will add 99 luxury units to the town — 60 at the latter and 39 at the former — with an approximate delivery date of mid-2020. Onyx co-founder and managing principal John Saraceno Jr., a former Ridgewood resident, will head Onyx Living. Both rental buildings are being built on a mixed-use site that was once occupied by Ken Smith Motors, according to NorthJersey.com. Plans call for the project to allocate 5,500 square feet of retail space in addition to the high-end rental units. Onyx, which has been an active developer in Ridgewood, was also recently part of a five-firm collective that bought three of the four Gateway Center buildings in Newark for $300 million, as noted in February by The Real Deal. Onyx is working with Axonic Capital, Garrison Investment Group, Prudential Financial and Taconic Capital Advisors on that purchase of 1.8 million square feet in downtown Newark. [NJBiz]