JLL has completed two new transactions,totaling 95,000 square feet, at 500 Plaza Drive in New Jersey, which is managed by Manulife Investment Management’s Real Estate group. Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. signed for 54,000 square feet of office space and AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. renewed its lease for 41,000 square feet at the class A, 461,525 square foot office building.
Manulife Investment Management was represented in both transactions by JLL’s David Stifelman, managing director, and Timothy Greiner, executive managing director and head of New Jersey brokerage at JLL.
“500 Plaza Drive is an institutionally-owned office building located in the Meadowlands submarket,” said Stifelman. “This is a headquarters-quality property that has attracted world-class tenants like Hartz Mountain Industries and AXA Equitable Life Insurance.”
Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. signed a new, long-term lease for 54,000 square feet of office space and will occupy the entire sixth floor at 500 Plaza Drive. Hartz Mountain Industries, one of the largest private owners of commercial real estate in the United States, is relocating to the building from nearby 400 Plaza Drive. The tenant was represented by Geoffrey Schubert, senior vice president, with CBRE Group Inc.
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co.inked a renewal for 41,000 square feet of space and will continue to occupy the entire seventh floor of the building. The insurance giant was represented by Matthew Astrachan, vice chairman, with JLL.
500 Plaza Drive encompasses 461,525squarefeet of class A office space. The 11-story building is one of the top office properties in the Meadowlands and the premier asset within Harmon Meadow. Originally constructed in 1985, the building recently underwent a multi-million dollar redevelopment in 2015, designed by world-renowned architecture firm, Gensler. These upgrades included a new parking garage, lobby and common area revitalization, as well as the development of a full-service cafeteria, conference center, fitness center, and rooftop patio. It is also anticipated that 500 Plaza will be featuring a large block availability in the near future. Additional information will be shared on this opportunity in the coming months.
500 Plaza is located within Harmon Meadow—the region’s largest and most prolific mixed-use development. Totaling 200 acres and four million square feet, the master-planned, amenity-rich environment includes residential apartments, approximately one million square feet of retail space, 25 restaurants, eight hotels, leisure and sports facilities, and a 14-screen cinema.
The strength of this location rests largely on its proximity to New York City and the Lincoln Tunnel as well as Newark Liberty International Airport, shipping ports and the state’s major highway and mass transportation networks. Harmon Meadow is situated at the crossroads of the NJ Turnpike and Route 3, providing exceptional access to virtually any location within the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. A shuttle service runs weekdays at peak hours to and from the Secaucus Junction Train Station.
JLL is a leader in the northern/central New Jersey commercial real estate market, with more than 1,260 professionals and support staff providing agency leasing and property marketing, tenant representation, industrial services, strategic consulting, occupancy planning, workplace strategies, project and development services, property and facility management, and investment sales/capital markets debt and equity services to New Jersey's leading corporate tenants, investors and landlords. The firm, which assists clients from five full-service offices in Parsippany, Iselin (Metropark), Princeton, Morristown and East Rutherford, also acts as a local service provider for JLL’s global and national corporate clients in need of real estate assistance in New Jersey. NJBiz ranked JLL’s New Jersey operations as the No. 1 commercial real estate brokerage in the Garden State in 2020.
About Manulife Investment Management’s Real Estate Group
Manulife Investment Management's comprehensive private markets capabilities include real estate, private equity and credit, infrastructure, timber and agriculture. Through its Real Estate group, Manulife Investment Management develops?and manages commercial real estate for thousands of customers?around the globe. As at June 30, 2020, the real estate portfolio totals nearly 62 million square feet of office, industrial, and retail space and over 5,000 multifamily units strategically located in markets across Canada, the U.S., and Asia. The group leverages its global platform and local expertise to provide market-leading solutions for its tenants and deliver results for its partners. Additional information can be found at?www.manulifeim.com/realestate.
About JLL
JLL ( JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $18.0 billion in 2019, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of nearly 93,000 as of June 30, 2020. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.
