JLL arranges $31M refinancing for Class A office building in Union

Liberty Hall Center I refinanced will have capital improvements completed 

JLL Capital Markets on Monday announced it arranged $31 million in refinancing for Liberty Hall Center I, a 210,000-square-foot, Class A office building located at 1085 Morris Ave. in Union.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Liberty Hall Joint Venture LLC, to secure the loan through Knighthead Funding LLC. The loan proceeds refinanced an expiring loan and provided additional funding for base building capital improvements and future tenant allowances.

Designed in 1988 by architectural firm Wallace Roberts & Todd, Liberty Hall Center I was originally built as the headquarters for Elizabethtown Gas, a regional natural gas utility company that has since departed the property. The building features a five-story glass atrium lobby, a full-service café, conference center, atrium event space, four elevators, a well-designed central core, outdoor hardscaped lounge areas and covered executive parking.

Liberty Hall Center I is located directly across from Kean University’s main campus, and is proximate to Union Station Corporate Center, Hynes Hall, Vermella Union, the Shoppes at Vermella Union and Kean University’s New Jersey Center for Science Technology and Mathematics. In addition, the property is 22 miles southwest of Manhattan and provides exceptional access to the region’s transportation networks, including Garden State Parkway, Interstate 78, Route 22 and the New Jersey Turnpike.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Jon Mikula, Director Max Custer and Vice President Michael Lachs.

“Liberty Hall Center I is a unique Class A office building located in a dynamic suburban market at the doorstep of Kean University’s campus,” Custer stated. “With much of the building’s rentable square footage recently becoming available, Knighthead Funding did an excellent job understanding the property’s evolution and the borrower’s strategic value add business plan. We are thrilled to have assisted in arranging this financing relationship.”