In one of commercial real estate’s coveted events, NAIOP New Jersey held its 35th Annual Gala on Thursday evening at the Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset.
Eugene Preston, who recently retired from Dermody Properties, received the Charles
Klatskin Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors an individual who has had a
distinguished record in service to the industry and the community. Preston, a past president of NAIOP New Jersey, developed and acquired over 28 million square feet of industrial and logistics space representing approximately $2 billion of invested capital.
In addition to celebrating the achievements of leading CRE professionals and
organizations, NAIOP New Jersey recognizes the state’s most impactful real
estate transactions.
Industrial Deal of the Year Award: Target at Logan North
The team of Greek Development, Advance Realty Investors and CBRE successfully leased a 1.7 million-square-foot omnichannel flow center to Target Corp. in Logan. Following the agreement, the asset traded for a record-breaking $265 million when Torchlight Investors of New York bought the newly developed building in September 2021. Involved in the deal were Greek Development, Advance Realty Investors & CBRE.
Office Deal of the Year Award: Party City Headquarters operations lease, Woodcliff Lake
As the first-ever New Jersey Economic Development Authority Emerge Program recipient, Party City Holdings Inc. secured a seven-year, $9.996 million tax credit for its 208,911-square-foot Class A headquarters lease at 100 Tice Blvd. in Woodcliff Lake. The move consolidates two Party City offices into a newly designed creative workplace for 800-plus current/future employees. Involved in the deal: Party City, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills Studley, CBRE & Gensler.
Mixed-Use Deal of the Year Award: HalRay Newark Portfolio, Newark
The HalRay Newark Portfolio is a three-building portfolio totaling approximately 800,000 square feet of office/retail space with a 901-space parking deck. The sponsors have planned around $40 million of capital improvements with the focus of social and economic impact in mind. The goal is to drive further activity along the Halsey Corridor with the end goal of radiating that activity throughout the city. Involved in the deal: Hanini Group, Shift Capital, Colnvestment Partners, Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP and JLL Capital Markets.
Other awards include:
- The Caren S. Franzini Public Partner Award:City of Linden Mayor Derek Armstead;
- The Industry Service Award: Anthony Coscia, partner at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf;
- The Impact Award: David Gockel, president/chief executive officer of Langan Engineering & Environmental Services Inc.;
- The Impact Award: Onyx Equities LLC, with John Saraceno and Jonathan Schultz, co-founders and managing principals, accepting for the company.
The judges also awarded a “Transformation Award” to the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center.
