Purchase marks new joint venture partnership with South Charles Investment Corp., a subsidiary of Bank of America.
FAIRFIELD, N.J. (March 1, 2004) – Michael DiFede, Director of Business Development & Acquisitions for Bergman Real Estate Group, announced the purchase of the 110,000 square foot Fairfield 80 Office Center in a joint venture with South Charles Investment Corp., a subsidiary of Bank of America.
The 4-story, attractive atrium-style office building is being reintroduced into the marketplace as a multi-tenant rental property after having been solely owned and occupied by Aetna / US Healthcare for the past 12 years.
Aetna Life Insurance will continue to occupy the first two floors, while the third and fourth floors totaling 67,000 square feet will now be available for lease. Each floor contains 33,500 square feet of primarily open space layout with some perimeter offices. The floors can be divided to accommodate multiple tenants. Says Michael Bergman, Vice President of Leasing and Marketing, “Despite the current slow leasing velocity throughout most of New Jersey’s commercial office markets, we saw this building as an excellent opportunity to control one of the largest blocks of “ready-to-go” office space in the Fairfield-Wayne/Routes 46 & 23 sub-market market, and Fairfield 80 represents one of the best locations with direct access and visibility to Interstate 80.”
Located at 55 Lane Road in Fairfield, just off Route 46 and the I-80 Interchange at Passaic Avenue/Two Bridges Road, the Class “A” Building offers a dramatic 30 foot high atrium lobby, an abundance of corner windowed offices (some with private balconies) due to its’ unique architectural design and ample parking with some covered under the Building. Tenants will enjoy the convenience of the property’s strategic location, which is in close proximity to numerous restaurants, retail stores, banking facilities and hotels found along Route 46 and at the Willowbrook Mall. Also nearby is the Essex County (Caldwell) Airport just two miles down the road.
Fairfield 80 Office Center was brokered by the Tri-State Investment Team of CB Richard Ellis, led by Steven Bardsley and Lynn DeMarco, who represented Aetna in the marketing and disposition of the property. Bergman Real Estate Group financed the purchase with an acquisition loan from Bank of New York, who has been Bergman’s primary lender for most of its’ acquisitions.
Bergman Real Estate Group has earned a solid reputation as a leader in the acquisition, ownership, management, leasing, and financing of commercial office properties throughout the Northern and Central New Jersey marketplace. “The Fairfield 80 Office Center represents another fine addition to our portfolio of NJ office buildings and offers outstanding potential for value appreciation and a sound investment for our investors,” explains Michael DiFede. “Of course there is a lot of homework involved in order to pull off a successful acquisition, but besides the firm’s strict underwriting criteria and prudent due diligence efforts, it is the skill and dedication of our staff and their tremendous work ethic that have enabled a complex transaction such as this to go smoothly,” comments DiFede.
The company prides itself on its hands-on, ownership/management style in operating its’ properties, with a primary emphasis on Tenant satisfaction and Broker cooperation. “We’re in the hospitality and relationship business,” comments Michael Bergman. “Our job and goal is to provide top quality services to our tenants to assure a comfortable and pleasant work environment for their employees, which hopefully results in their long term occupancies in our buildings. If we do our job right, and we think we do, then the brokerage community who we rely upon will be more inclined to bring us their tenants.”
Bergman Real Estate Group’s comprehensive approach has served it well since its beginnings and promises to do the same in the future. Since its formation in 1988 by Jerome Bergman, President and son Steven Bergman, Vice President, the company has successfully acquired over 24 commercial properties worth in excess of $200 million, including 15 office buildings containing over 1.5 million square feet of office space and 10 garden apartment complexes containing over 3,500 units in Houston, Texas.
