New Jersey Trophy Asset Changes Hands for $88M

300 Kimball Drive in Parsipanny, NJ. Image via JLL

Sovereign Partners LLC has sold a 400,000-square-foot trophy office asset for $88 million to Signature Acquisitions. The deal comes nearly four years after the prior, $66 million acquisition of 300 Kimball, a Class A office building in Parsippany, N.J., from State Farm.

JLL, which handled the March 2019 sale from State Farm to Sovereign Partners, also completed this transaction. Additionally, JLL sold Signature Acquisitions the adjacent building, 100 Kimball, in 2019.

Located in Cranford, N.J., Signature Acquisitions owns and manages suburban Class A office space. In late October, the firm announced it had completed more than 63,000 square feet of office leases, expansions and renewals at several office properties located near New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, including Parkway Commerce Center, where it has its own offices.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Kevin O’Hearn, Jose Cruz and Jeremy Neuer and analyst Peter Kim.

O’Hearn said in a prepared statement the transaction reflects the flight-to-quality trend occurring in the office sector. He said the top assets in each submarket generally continue to perform well and Parsippany, located in Morris County, is a good example of the trend. O’Hearn also noted the team was pleased to have assisted two long-term and highly valued clients in a single transaction with Sovereign Partners, successfully executing a value-add strategy for the asset and Signature Acquisitions making a strategic purchase of a second building in the same office park.

A trophy level asset

Completed in 2001, 300 Kimball went through a cosmetic renovation in 2013, one year after being acquired by State Farm. The insurance giant was the sole tenant until that year, when it began to phase out its staff and carried out a full renovation, to allow for multiple tenants.

The five-story building is 87 percent leased to a variety of tenants, including anchors FM Global, Langan Engineering, embecta and Western World Insurance/AIG. The tenant roster also comprises AdvanSix and Transwestern. According to CommercialEdge, none of the leases are set to expire within the next 12 months.

The LEED Silver-certified building is a recipient of the BOMA Building of the Year award. It has a granite façade and dramatic atrium lobbies. Amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center with locker rooms and a golf simulator, a full-service cafeteria with expansive seating, a conference center, an outdoor patio, electric car charging stations, a walking trail and covered parking.

300 Kimball Drive is situated on 9.3 acres near the intersection of Interstates 80 and 287, within a four-building, 850,000-square-foot office park called The Center of Morris County. The property has strong visibility from Interstate 80 and is considered one of the best office assets in the Parsippany submarket.