Jeffrey L. Heller, Principal and Managing Director of Avison Young’s New Jersey offices, is announcing the closing of five separate office leases on behalf of ownership, Highstone Equity Group, at 500 North Franklin Turnpike in Ramsey, NJ, representing over 11,600 in aggregate square feet at the property.
An Avison Young team comprising of Marc S Krieger, Senior Vice President with the assistance of Steven Geltzeiler, Senior Vice President, represented building owner, Highstone Equity Group, in the transactions.
Highstone Equity Group purchased the 139,000 square foot Class A office property in November 2017 and saw a great opportunity to reposition this asset in the marketplace and create value. When purchased, the property was about fifty percent vacant due to a single tenant, UPS, moving out. UPS took advantage of a State’s Grow New Jersey grant of $40 million dollars and constructed a 200,000 square foot Technology Center housing 1,000 employees in Parsippany, NJ. “UPS occupied the entire top floor of approximately 68,000 square feet of 500 N. Franklin Turnpike and the prior owners weren’t prepared to update the building or the floor to attract new tenants.”
“The building has great bones,” noted Elazar Hamel, Highstone’s Founder and Principal.Features and surrounding amenities include covered executive parking, an overall parking ratio of 5:1, on-site café with indoor and outdoor seating in an open-air courtyard, walkability to neighborhood eateries, services and the NJ Transit Ramsey train station, and great highway access.
Krieger, who was retained by Highstone to market the vacant space knows the market and the property well, having represented prior ownership for about ten years. “Highstone’s plans for the property are spot on” noted Krieger. According to Elazar Hamel, “We’ve already replaced all the rooftop HVAC equipment and the building management systems that monitor the HVAC. We’ve resurfaced the roof and are installing solar panels. We are in the process of upgrading the common area finishes including the elevators, bathrooms, lobbies and hallways as well as the parking lot and exterior entrances.”
“These are all important improvements to keep the property competitive, but perhaps the most important investment ownership is making is the construction of an Amenity Center for Tenants that will include a large conference room, a lounge, a fitness center and co-working spaces that can be rented on a short-term basis” adds Krieger.
The five new leases include Mountainside Treatment Center, Opulence Funding, Senior Solutions Group, The Marchese Group and WWEX. Like the existing tenant base, these tenants represent a cross section of businesses catering to both individual and business to business service sectors.
Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,700 real estate professionals in 85 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing, and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial, multi- family and hospitality properties.
