Morgan Stanley Funds N.J. Office Portfolio Buy With $147M Loan
By Danielle Balbi February 1, 2016 2:00 pm
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New York-based JFR Global Investments landed a $147 million acquisition loan from Morgan Stanley to fund the purchase of an eight-building office portfolio in Lawrenceville, N.J., Commercial Observer has learned.
Earlier this month, the investment firm bought the 803,593-square-foot office center, Princeton Pike Corporate Center, from a joint venture between Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Bloomfield, N.J.-based developer Prism Capital Partners. The sale price was not immediately available.
JLL sales team Managing Director Joe Garibaldi and Executive Vice President Tom Walsh led the sale and the brokerage’s capital markets team Managing Director Dustin Stolly, Senior Vice President Jonathan Schwartz and Vice President Aaron Niedermayer arranged the financing.
“This is a stable, multi-tenanted office campus that combines modern office space with value-add buildings,” Mr. Walsh said in prepared remarks provided to CO. “As the new owner, JFR has the considerable opportunity to shape the future of this portfolio through additional capital improvements and amenity development.”
The 100-acre property, which is located at 2000-2200 Lenox Drive, contains seven three-story office buildings and one two-story office building. The buildings were originally constructed in 1984 and are just a few minutes away from Princeton.
The office property is currently 90 percent leased and tenants include Citigroup, MetLife and Wells Fargo, according to Prism’s website.
“This is a diverse, credit-worthy tenant roster,” Mr. Stolly said. “It is also an enviable combination of critical mass, flexibility and stability in a submarket that is served by excellent demographics and blue-chip corporate neighbors.”
Since the sellers, a joint venture between Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Prism, acquired the office complex in 2013, $2.8 million in capital improvements have been completed. Upgrades included new exterior finishes, renovations of lobbies and atriums, a conference center, new cafes, a new HVAC system and an expanded parking lot.
The partnership paid $121 million for the site at the time, according to a report from Colliers International.
A representative for Morgan Stanley did not return calls for comment. A representative for JFR could not immediately be reached.
