Mack-Cali Sells New Jersey Office Asset

The deal is the REIT’s latest step in its strategy of exiting suburban markets.

500 College Road E.

Following through with plans to sell off its entire suburban office portfolio, Mack-Cali Realty Corp. has closed on the disposition of a 160,000-square-foot property in Princeton, N.J. Bergman Real Estate Group, in a joint venture with Hornig Capital Partners and Eightfold Real Estate Capital, purchased the asset within the Princeton Forrestal Center.

JLL Capital Markets arranged a $14.1 million acquisition loan through Amherst Capital Management, public records show. The property last traded in 1998, when Mack-Cali paid $21.3 million for the four-story building, according to CommercialEdge.

The current deal follows another recent New Jersey disposition for the company. Last month, Mack-Cali sold a 203,300-square-foot office property in Woodbridge Township, for $61 million.

Capital improvements

The new ownership has drafted a $4 million capital improvement plan for their asset at 500 College Road E. With Ware Malcomb in charge of design and development, the renovation will upgrade common areas, while a new conference and training center is also in the plans.

Built in 1983 on a 15-acre site just off U.S. Route 1, the property sits amidst Princeton’s reputable collection of company offices and educational institutions. Currently, the building has 76,000 square feet of vacant space.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Michael Klein and Greg Nalbandian, Vice President Michael Lachs and Capital Markets Analyst Biagio Caruso secured the acquisition financing, in a collaboration with Amherst’s Managing Director Gabe Boyar. The new owners also appointed JLL as exclusive leasing agent for the property, with Senior Vice President Vinny DiMeglio and Vice President Erin Moran spearheading the efforts.