Horizon Equities Acquires 10 New Jersey Assets

The Ocean County portfolio. Image courtesy of Marcus & Millichap

Horizon Equities has purchased a 10-property, 310,023-square-foot retail and medical office portfolio in Ocean County, N.J. Marcus & Millichap, together with Institutional Property Advisors, brokered the $46 million transaction on behalf of the seller, a private investor, and secured the buyer.

The portfolio consists of five multi-tenant and two single-tenant retail properties, together with two medical offices and an asset that is slated for redevelopment.

Most of the traded properties are in Toms River, N.J., with only one located in Brick, N.J. Several assets are in Holiday City, a neighborhood in Toms River that caters to a significant number of senior citizens.

The portfolio is close to the Jersey Shore and major employment centers in Philadelphia and New York City. They can be easily accessed via New Jersey Route 37, U.S. Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway.

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Marcus & Millichap Senior Managing Director of Investments Alan Cafiero, First Vice President of Investments Brent Hyldahl and Associate Seth Goldberg, together with IPA Senior Director Brad Nathanson, represented the seller.

In a prepared statement, Cafiero said that the portfolio was 70 percent leased to more than 100 tenants at the time of sale. This provides the buyer with a stable cash flow and the potential to increase returns through leasing up vacant units.

In addition, the new ownership reportedly intends to upgrade the assets. Planned improvements include modernized facades, new signage and parking lot repaving, as well as new landscaping and better lighting, according to app.com.

The Ocean County portfolio, up close

The multi-tenant retail assets include:

• Bellcrest Plaza, a 105,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by RWJBarnabas Health, located at 931-953 Fischer Blvd. in Toms River.
• Yorktowne Plaza, a 41,915-square-foot property in Brick.
• Holiday City Plaza, a three-property, 119,000-square-foot portfolio located at Jamaica Boulevard in Toms River.

The medical office properties that changed hands were the 18,000-square-foot Holiday City Medical Center and a 6,470-square-foot, freestanding medical office building occupied by the United States Social Security Administration.

The single-tenant, net-leased assets comprise a 14,564-square-foot Rite-Aid with approximately 6 years and a half remaining on a 20-year lease term and a 2,500-square-foot Wells Fargo with 7.5 years remaining on the lease and two five-year renewal options.

Another single-tenant, net-leased property, a 2,000-square-foot former PNC Bank with a double drive-through and 17 parking spaces, is set to be redeveloped.