A 23-story office building in New Jersey has been sold by Boston Properties for $38 million, a real estate investment trust that is betting big on co-working and ground-up development.
The 415,743-square-foot complex in East Brunswick, known as One Tower Center, was sold Monday to Edison-based American Equity Partners, NJBIZ reported.
CBRE, which brokered the deal on behalf of the seller, said that the Middlesex County building and the neighboring Two Tower Center are the tallest in the Central Jersey region. Two Tower was sold in late 2015 for $60 million, according to NJBIZ. The outlet noted that both buildings are part of the three-building Tower Center complex, which includes the East Brunswick Hilton. The 14-acre site is immediately adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike and U.S. Routes 1 and 18.
One Tower is 39 percent leased to tenants such as Berkshire Bank’s First Choice Loan Services, insurance giant Prudential and tax and accounting firm Withum, according to CBRE, which in addition to representing Boston Properties also saw an institutional properties team led by Jeffrey Dunne, Jeremy Neuer, Travis Langer and Zach McHale procure the buyer in AEP.
“[AEP] distinguished themselves throughout our process, moving quickly to secure this opportunity,” said a statement from Dunne, a vice chairman at CBRE. “The team was aggressive from the outset, knowing this was a unique opportunity to acquire a Class A asset on a value-add basis.”
Edison-based AEP intends to improve and reposition the property by revamping its lobby and expanding its amenities package. ROI-NJ reported that One Tower is one of the few office buildings in the region with an available block of space in excess of 100,000 square feet. The sales price for the building puts its price per square foot at a little more than $91.
Boston Properties said it had agreed to sell the property in April after shortening its hold period. The REIT also agreed to exercise its right to acquire several parcels in Princeton earlier this year. [NJBIZ] — Mario Marroquin