New Jersey Office Building Lands $31M Refi

1085 Morris Ave.

Knighthead Funding has provided $31 million for the refinancing of Liberty Hall Center I, a 210,000-square-foot office building in Union, N.J. The loan replaced existing debt, in addition to funding building improvements and allowances for future tenants. The property’s owner, Liberty Hall Joint Venture LLC, is an affiliate of Cali Futures LLC, public records show.

JLL negotiated on behalf of the landlord. Senior Managing Director Jon Mikula, Director Max Custer and Vice President Michael Lachs led the Capital Markets team that secured the deal.

READ ALSO: Why CRE Investors Are Rethinking Refinancing

Developed on a 27-acre lot at 1085 Morris Ave., Liberty Hall Center I came online in 1989 as the headquarters of a regional gas company. The building is home to five stories and 210,000 square feet of Class A office space, whose primary tenant is plastics manufacturer B&G International.

The property is across from Kean University and has quick access to the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 78, putting it within 8 miles of Newark and 22 miles of New York City. Newark Liberty International Airport is some 5 miles east.

New Jersey’s office revival

The lease renewal takes place as New Jersey’s office sector sees incremental gains during the second quarter of 2022, following losses of over 3.4 million square feet of space during the two years of the pandemic, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report.

The region’s vacancy rate stabilized at 19.6 percent, an improvement of 10 basis points from 2021, as companies return to the office during a time of demand for space exceeding what is available. Union County had more than 1 million square feet of direct vacant space out of an inventory of 9 million, the report shows.