Mack-Cali Realty Sells Suburban New Jersey Office Complex

Mack-Cali Realty has unloaded another New Jersey office complex in its quest to shed its suburban portfolio.

The Jersey City-based REIT announced that it sold its four-building Metropark complex in Edison and Iselin, New Jersey, to Opal Holdings, a New York City REIT, for $254 million. The 946,000-square-foot parcel consists of 99 and 101 Wood Avenue South and 333 and 343 Thornall Street, and is more than 90 percent leased, according to the company.

“This sale marks a key milestone in our strategy to sell non-core suburban office assets, which we expect to substantially complete in the near future,” said Mack-Cali’s CEO Mahbod Nia, who recently took the reins of the company.

The REIT has been selling off its suburban office properties in recent years to realign its portfolio. In 2019, it announced it would unload 2.4 million square feet of space in Parsippany and Madison, New Jersey, with a joint venture led by Onyx Equities LLC paying $288.5 million for the properties.

As with that deal, Mack-Cali plans to use the proceeds from the most recent transaction to pay down unsecured corporate debt.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Andy Merin and David Bernhaut, along with their colleagues, brokered the transaction.

Two years ago, Mack-Cali went through a massive shake-up of its board, in which an activist investor pushed for the resignation of then-CEO Michael DeMarco.

MaryAnne Gilmartin, CEO of MAG Partners, served as interim CEO until Nia’s appointment earlier this month.