‘Gloria Crest’ estate in Englewood hits market at big discount
After struggling to find a buyer for years, a mansion in Englewood is now listed at $9.99 million, a roughly 75 percent discount from the $39 million it sought when first hitting the market in 2013, the New York Post reported. The outlet noted that the property at 89 North Woodland Street has been pulled from the market at least three times and discounted five times during the past half-dozen years. The so-called Gloria Crest estate, which has eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms, was built in 1926 for a man who claimed to be from Polish royalty. The 24,000-square-foot home, once nicknamed the “White House of Englewood,” sits on five acres and avoided a foreclosure auction in 2017 over an unpaid $5 million mortgage. Its current owner, Control Equity Group CEO Edward Turen, bought the property for $4.8 million in 2000. Signature Realty NJ’s Michelle Pais has the listing for the property, which gets its name from former silent film actress Gloria Swanson. She was rumored to have been gifted it nearly a century ago by Joseph Kennedy, the father of President John F. Kennedy. [TRD]
West Orange pays $11.1M to buy the Rock Spring Golf Club
The 138-acre Rock Spring Golf Club was sold for $11.1 million last week to the Township of West Orange, RE-NJ reported. HFF advised the seller, Montclair Golf Club, a West Orange-based operator and owner in the transaction. Montclair Golf Club bought Rock Spring in 2016, according to a March story from NJ.com, which noted that the site could be turned into condos. West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi has said publicly that the municipality could operate the 18-hole golf course for two years. A portion of the development site at 90 Rock Spring Road could also be put up for sale to recoup $600,000 in lost tax revenue due to the township’s ownership of the property. Patch.com reported that there is ongoing debate as to whether Rock Spring should be a 9-hole or 18-hole course. GlobeSt noted that Rock Spring has views of the New York City skyline and easy access to Manhattan via I-80 and New Jersey Transit bus and train service. West Orange is home to Edison Village, a $230 million mixed-use complex being developed by Prism Capital Partners, Dune Real Estate Partners and Greenfield Partners. RE-NJ reported in March on a key leasing milestone at the site, which inked its 100th lease on the 300-unit Edison Lofts. [RE-NJ]
Avenel cold storage facility secures $36M refinancing
HFF arranged $35.75 million in refinancing last week for a fully-leased, 182,154-square-foot cold storage facility in Avenel, according to GlobeSt. HFF represented developers Advance Realty Investors and Greek Development in securing the 10-year, fixed-rate loan that will retire construction debt and return capital to the joint venture. The Woodbridge Township property, located at 275 Blair Road, was a built-to-suit facility for Preferred Freezer Services constructed in 2015. RE-NJ noted that Preferred Freezer Services is the world’s third-largest provider of refrigerated warehouses. The joint venture-owned property is located 6 miles from the Goethals Bridge to Staten Island and 10 miles to Port Newark and Newark Liberty International Airport. While HFF declined to identify the lender providing the loan, GlobeSt noted that at $200 of loan per square foot the deal is one of the highest loan valuations for a cold storage facility. According to research from JLL, which is poised to absorb HFF in a $2 billion deal, average asking rents in the Exit 12 New Jersey Turnpike submarket (25 miles from the Lincoln Tunnel) reached $9.81-per-square-foot for warehouse and distribution space during the first quarter. JLL also noted that the Exit 12 submarket had an overall net absorption of -256,175 square feet, while vacancy remained at 2.2 percent. [GlobeSt]
Jersey City advances hotel proposal near Liberty State Park
The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency was reported to have reached an agreement with Landmark Developers for the construction of a hotel on two separate tracts owned by New Jersey Transit last week, JerseyDigs reported. Jersey City-based Landmark Developers, which announced its redevelopment plans last year, intends to develop the two tracts at 269 and 273 Communipaw Avenue into the 120-room Morris Hotel with parking, a restaurant and coffee shop. JerseyDigs reported that New Jersey Transit has not announced plans to sell or redevelop the two tracts. Landmark Developers’ proposal for the Morris Hotel would make it the closest hotel to the Liberty State Park and Liberty Science Center. The site of the project is also immediately adjacent to a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station and 10 minutes from the Exchange Place PATH station. If advanced, it would join a number of redevelopments and new tenants in the Bergen-Lafayette section of Jersey City, including Brooklyn-based Wallabout Realty Holdings’ 170-unit project on nine adjacent properties, Ironstate Development’s $84 million mixed-use project at 100 Monitor Street and craft distillery Corgi Spirits and 902 Brewing Company, to name a few. The Real Deal reported back in 2007 on Landmark Developers redeveloping a six-story Bergen-Lafayette industrial property at 125 Monitor Street into 180 loft condos, although a decade later that abandoned warehouse still remains undeveloped. [Jersey Digs]
Hoboken redevelopment project with hotel moves forward
A 1.83-acre property at 1300 Jefferson Street in Hoboken secured city council support last week, JerseyDigs reported. Hoboken City Council members adopted the redevelopment plan for the property, which includes the construction of a hotel, 207 residential units and 18,213 square feet of retail space. According to city documents, the redevelopment plans submitted by Just Block 112 LLC and 707 Church LLC include 5,234 square feet of open space. According to JerseyDigs, a previous application to build a bowling alley along with two towers was rejected by the zoning board in June 2014. That proposal included 21 affordable housing units. The current project is being led by Mark Villamar and Hany Ahmed, a pair of local developers who were previously part of the Pilsner Haus Biergarten restoration at the nearby 1422 Grand Street, just two blocks from the proposed Jefferson Street development. Both properties fall within Hoboken’s Redevelopment and Rehabilitation Areas. As part of the city’s Western Edge Redevelopment Plan, which encompasses six block in the northwestern edge of the city, the site’s developers are eligible for a tax exemptions up to 30 years. [Jersey Digs]
Developers debut 91-unit luxury rental building in Newark
The North Ironbound neighborhood in Newark will see a new luxury rental project open its doors on May, according to RE-NJ and several other local outlets. T. Gary Gutjahr and J. Gordon Gutjahr, the developers brothers behind the property that had been scheduled to open in mid-March, said their building at 325 Ferry Street will have 91 one- and two-bedroom rentals. Tenants reportedly began moving into the new community on April 1. As of April 25, the property was reported to have been 40 percent leased, with available two-bedroom units starting at $2,317 per month. The development, which offers complimentary shuttle services to the Harrison PATH station and Newark Penn Station located about a mile away, includes a 5,000-square-foot sport bar, a pizzeria and a pet grooming store. Other amenities include a custom fitness studio with cardio and weightlifting equipment, a lounge and an outdoor patio with seating and picnic areas. According to NJ.gov, 325 Ferry Street is two blocks from two designated Opportunity Zone tracts. Its surrounding neighborhood is known for its Portuguese and Brazilian eateries. Cerqueira Bros., a developer familiar with Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, is poised to build a 60-unit apartment complex in a nearby tract at 96-11 Main Street. Another developer called Markpolk is working on a 56-unit, mixed-use property along Newark’s riverfront at 558 Market Street. JerseyDigs reported in early April on yet another 133-unit building that could rise in the Ironbound as a result of the area’s mixed-use rezoning during the past two years. [RE-NJ]
Redevelopment site near Essex County Airport sells in Fairfield
A two-acre redevelopment site zoned for retail across the street from Essex County Airport sold last week for an undisclosed sum to an unnamed buyer, according to ROI-NJ. NAI James E. Hanson brokered the sale of 212 Passaic Avenue in Fairfield from Passaic Ave Realty LLC. The brokerage firm said the buyer intends to build a medical facility on the site. The property is situated three miles from the Wayne Route 23 Transit Center and the Little Falls New Jersey Transit stations. According to research from Colliers International, asking rents for the West Essex submarket reached $25.39 per-square-foot during the fourth quarter of 2018, well above the North Jersey average of $22.70 per-square-foot. The submarket saw a 90,816-square foot net absorption for the year. Colliers stated that the West Essex submarket consists of 13.2 million square feet of total inventory. The area’s median household income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, was $110,303 between 2013 and 2017. [ROI-NJ]