Capital Realty Spearheads 66-Building NJ Sale
The company brokered the $130 million sale, which includes 919 units in Bayonne and Union City. This represents the largest multifamily deal in the area in terms of both number of units and total sale price.
Capital Realty has brokered the sale of 66 buildings and 919 apartment units in the New Jersey cities of Bayonne and Union City for $130 million.
“The sheer volume of the Bayonne and Union City portfolio presented a challenge when trying to find the most suitable buyer,” Benjamin Greenstein, Capital Realty’s president, said. “A longstanding relationship with the seller developed into a confidence that Capital Realty would be best-suited to facilitate this complex transaction.”
Greenstein represented the seller and procured a private investor as the buyer.
The deal represents the largest multifamily deal in the area in terms of both number of units and total sale price.
“It was definitely a rare multifamily acquisition opportunity simply based on its size and highly strategic location,” Steven Follman, Capital Realty’s vice president/sales manager, said.
According to Greenstein, the buyer feels it is far from the apex of Hudson County’s rent boom, and therefore was eager to extend his foothold into the burgeoning market. Hudson County is recognized as one of the country’s four most densely populated cities with Union City number two on the list, and asking rents are expected to go up in the months and years ahead.
“The buyer was definitely drawn to the rent decontrol laws recently enacted in Bayonne and the low vacancy rates in Union City,” he said.
Booming Bayonne
Situated directly across the Hudson River, just five miles from Manhattan, Bayonne and Union City are home to numerous young professionals, artists and hipsters. All 66 properties in the deal are under 35 minutes from Manhattan.
“The metro’s proximity to high-profile employers along with its impressive immediate access to mass and vehicle transit options are major bargaining chips when it comes to deciding where to live,” Greenstein said. “He views these properties as having significant value-add potential and plans to update the apartments upon vacancy.”
Bayonne is seeing multifamily development growth, trading on its proximity to Manhattan and relative low rents. According to Joe DeMarco, the city’s business administrator, Bayonne will add 2,000 to 3,000 apartments over the next five years.
Some recent deals include Greystone providing $19.2 million in financing for the acquisition of Silk Lofts, an 85-unit community in Bayonne, N.J.; and Woodmont Properties and Baker Residential forming a joint venture to develop a 220-unit apartment building in the city.
