JLL Arranges $114M Loan for Office Portfolio

707 Broad St.

A joint venture of SHIFT Capital, the Hanini Group and CoInvestment Partners has landed $113.5 million in financing for the acquisition of an 816,000-square-foot office portfolio and a parking lot in Newark, N.J. ACORE Capital provided the three-year, floating-rate loan. JLL Capital Markets and Progress Capital helped structure the financing on behalf of the borrower.

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The seller, Hartz Mountain Industries, received $42 million for 707 Broad St. and $34.4 million for 153 Halsey St. from the partnership, according to CommercialEdge data. The portfolio transaction also included a 901-space parking garage at 261 University Place.

The state of New Jersey has been the long-term tenant at the two office buildings.

The 1887-built 707 Broad St., is a 10-story building offering 58,512-square-foot floorplates. Originally serving as a retail building, the property underwent an adaptive reuse program in 1926, when it was converted to office use. The property is home to the N.J. Board of Architects, the N.J. State Labor Department and the N.J. Board of Nursing, among other institutions.

The 1927-built 153 Halsey St. is a 15-story building, with average floorplates of 35,700 square feet. The asset underwent extensive renovations in 1997. The property hosts the Essex County Court, the Essex County Child Support, the Wilentz Justice Complex, as well as a number of retailers.

Located just steps from one another, the three assets are part of the Prudential Insurance Campus in the Central Business District. The office buildings are within walking distance of the Military Park and of several dining and retail opportunities.

The JLL Capital Markets team that arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower included Senior Managing Directors Michael Klein and Jon Mikula and Director Matthew Pizzolato. Partner Brad Domenico from Progress Capital was also involved in structuring the loan.

The long way to recovery

According to a recent report by JLL, vacancy in Newark reached 25.8 percent in the third quarter, despite a slowdown in construction activity.

According to a recent CommercialEdge report, New Jersey had the tightest construction pipeline across major markets in September. Projects under construction accounted for a modest 0.3 percent of existing inventory, with another 1.9 percent of existing stock in the planning stages.

Nevertheless, the transaction volume in the market year-to-date through September was at a healthy $1.3 billion, with an average price of $170 per square foot.