Cole Spends $53M on New Jersey Office Building

By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor

Cole Real Estate Investments has made another addition to its portfolio in the New Jersey area, this time picking up the 176,000-square foot, Class A property located at 8 Sylvan Way in Parsippany. Cole purchased the property for $53 million from The Hampshire Cos.

The building, which is fully leased as the headquarters of The Medicine Co. — a global pharmaceutical firm — has 12 years remaining on its occupancy lease, with two five-year renewal options.

“With the location of the property, long remaining lease term, scheduled rent increases and desirable corporate headquarters, this acquisition corresponds with our overall conservative, disciplined investment strategy,” Robert Micera, chief investment officer of the office and industrial businesses for Cole, said. “The Morris County, New Jersey, office submarket boasts great fundamentals, considering its strong economic base and educated workforce.”

Micera was correct; according to research by services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Northern New Jersey is trending towards recovery. With the highest year-end total since before the recession, leasing activity in the state’s northern counties reached 5.5 million square feet during 2011 and exceeded 2010 transactions — which totaled 4.4 million square feet — by nearly 25 percent.

“The rise in leasing activity from 2010 to 2011 demonstrates that the recovery truly has begun in Northern New Jersey,” Gualbero Medina, managing director of Cushman’s New Jersey office, said. “Low rental rates will further motivate tenants looking for space, and vacancy rates should begin to gradually decline over time as a result.”

Constructed in 1979, the facility was expanded and remodeled in 2008 to make it a premiere Class A office space. The office building is located in the Mack-Cali Business Park, which is one of the most concentrated pharmaceutical R&D and corporate office markets in the country. According to Cole, 63 companies in the Fortune 500 have either a headquarters facility or regional presence in Morris County.