WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (August 07, 2007) – Continuing in their program to acquire premium office buildings in New Jersey, Bergman Real Estate Group, along with financial partner Strategic Capital Partners, has recently purchased 25 A&B Vreeland Road in Florham Park, New Jersey. The property consists of twin, three-story, multi-tenant Class A office buildings of 113,500 square feet each, and is situated on 14 acres. The complex was acquired from TR Koll Florham Park Corp., a subsidiary of KBS Realty, for $33.65 million. The sale was brokered by CB Richard Ellis’ New York Tri-State Region Institutional Group led by Jeffrey Dunne.
The property, which has been renamed Florham Park Corporate Center, stands out from its nearby competition because of its highly divisible floorplates, giving it the ability to accommodate tenant sizes ranging from 1,000 square feet to full-floor occupancies up to 38,000 square feet. The Class A work environment features a corporate campus setting with a central courtyard with attractive landscaping, full height atrium lobbies with glass enclosed elevators overlooking the lobbies, a full-service café, on-site management, and an array of amenities in the surrounding area, including: a new Lifestyle Fitness Center being built directly across the street, numerous restaurants, upscale hotels such as the Short Hills Hilton and Westin in Morristown, and unsurpassed shopping at the nearby Livingston Mall and the Mall at Short Hills.
Florham Park Corporate Center is located on Vreeland Road directly off Columbia Turnpike (aka Route 510, which turns into South Orange Avenue in Livingston.) just around the corner from Eisenhower Parkway. This quite and serene location offers tenants extremely convenient access to the areas major roadways, including Route 10, Route 24, I-78, I-80, I-280 and I-287. The property is also in close proximity to the Morristown Airport just 3 miles away, and Newark Liberty Int’l Airport is only 20 miles.
“We were awarded this deal based upon our ability to get it done within the seller’s time-frame, which meant we had to complete our due diligence in two weeks,” explains Michael Bergman, President and CEO of the Bergman Real Estate Group. “The key for us was having a strong financial partner in Strategic Capital Partners, who enable us to close all cash and then place the debt subsequently. Both Laurie Smith, Senior VP of Acquisitions for Strategic Capital, and Michael DiFede, Director of Acquisitions for Bergman Real Estate worked exceptionally hard in pulling the deal together and completing our the due diligence in record time.”
In the words of Jeffrey Dunne, Vice Chairman of CB Richard Ellis’ investment sales team, “This transaction was done in an exceptionally short time-frame – 30 days from start to finish – in order to satisfy my client’s desired second quarter closing. The Bergman Group was totally focused on closing this deal, which was an impressive performance from a truly professional organization.”
At the time of sale, the complex was 82% leased to primary tenants including The Hobart West Group, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Managed Healthcare Associates, Willis of New Jersey, and Veritext, LLC. However, the occupancy is expected to drop to approximately 65% due to the known departure of Novartis who is consolidating to their corporate HQ facility in East Hanover. “Although there is a substantial amount of space becoming available in the near term,” says Mr. DiFfede, “we view this investment as an excellent value-add opportunity. We are buying an attractive, quality office property at a reduced price reflective of the current vacancy, yet there is significant upside value upon leasing up at current market rents.”
Bergman Real Estate has aggressive plans to upgrade the common areas of the both buildings to bring the quality up another level. “We anticipate spending significant capital in the near term for improvements to the main entrance lobbies, common area finishes, restrooms, atrium lighting and décor, elevator cab refurbishments, and several other upgrades,” describes Mr. Bergman. “We are very excited about this project and we’re looking forward to making it a success.”
About Bergman Real Estate Group
Bergman Real Estate Group is a privately owned family business, located in Iselin, New Jersey, and has earned a solid reputation as a leader in the acquisition, ownership, management, leasing, and financing of commercial office properties throughout the New Jersey marketplace. Since its formation in 1988 by Jerome Bergman, and sons Steven and Michael, the company has successfully acquired over 27 commercial properties with a combined market value in excess of $340 million. Bergman’s current office portfolio consists of over 1.5 million square in 12 owned/managed office properties in Northern, Central and Southern New Jersey.
