Renaissance Buys $174M New Jersey Community

Manulife Investment Management sold the property after more than a decade of ownership.

Plaza Square. Image courtesy of CBRE

Renaissance Management has acquired Plaza Square, a 415-unit Class A community in New Brunswick, N.J., for $173.5 million. CBRE represented the seller, Manulife Investment Management, and procured the buyer.

Built in 2004, the property last traded in 2011, when the current seller bought it for $113 million, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Property details

Previously known as Highlands at Plaza Square, the four- and five-story community offers a mix of one- to three-bedroom floorplans, ranging from 736 to 1,378 square feet, according to Yardi Matrix data. Community amenities include a pool, fitness center, business center and dog run. A total of 600 parking spaces are also available.

Located at 1 Richmond St., the asset is less than half a mile southeast of the NJ Transit New Brunswick train station and less than a mile south of Johnson & Johnsons’ headquarters. Boyd Park is also less than a mile southeast, while Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is less than a mile west. Several retail, dining, employment and entertainment options are available within a 1-mile radius.

CBRE’s brokerage team included Vice Chairman Jeffrey Dunne, Executive Vice President Jeremy Neuer, Senior Vice Presidents Richard Gatto and Fahri Ozturk and Vice Presidents Stuart MacKenzie and Eric Apfel.

Last year, Manulife Investment Management bought the 322-unit TriVista on Speer in Denver for $144.5 million. Along with the acquisition of the luxury property, Pritesh Patel, head of U.S. Real Estate Investments at Manulife, said in prepared remarks that the company is interested in expanding its Denver real estate footprint.