Gebroe-Hammer Associates announced Monday that it arranged the $113 million sale of a 641-unit workforce-housing portfolio in the city of East Orange.
As Essex County’s second-largest city, behind its neighbor Newark, East Orange has more than $1 billion in development activity underway.
Executive Managing Director Joseph Brecher orchestrated the transaction, along with Executive Managing Director David Oropeza and Executive Vice President Niko Nicolaou, on behalf of Milrose, the seller, and Spaxel, the buyer. The City Center-South Harrison Portfolio acquisition marked the largest in New Jersey for Spaxel to date.
The complex sale required a two-tranche closing structure that allowed for loan assumptions on three of the 10 properties by the buyer. “While we tapped into our expertise to facilitate the existing loan assumptions — a process that required coordination with three separate servicers — we were able to successfully execute a two-phase closing just one month apart,” Brecher said.
Combined, the portfolio features a mix of one-, two-, three and four-bedroom layouts, some of which have three baths.
The City Center-South Harrison Portfolio properties include:
- 106 S. Harrison St. (119 units);
- 111 S. Harrison St. (86 units);
- 120 S. Harrison St. (44 units);
- 158 S. Harrison St. (58 units);
- 179 S. Harrison St. (50 units);
- 255 S. Harrison St. (88 units);
- 275 S. Harrison St. (33 units);
- 296 S. Harrison St. (44 units);
- 94 S. Harrison St./The Renaissance Apartments (61 units); and
- 650 Park Ave./The Grand (58 units).
“Each of these properties benefits from East Orange’s greatest asset — its transit connectivity,” Brecher said. “They all are a short walk to Brick Church Station, which offers Midtown-Manhattan Direct service along the Morris & Essex Line and have front-door NJ Transit service along five routes. Of course, highway access ramps to the Garden State Parkway, I-280 and secondary roadways round out the transportation choices for local residents.”
