RUTHERFORD, NJ — Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group has brokered the $120 million sale of The Meadows Office Complex in Rutherford. The 600,000 s/f, two-building office complex traded from a joint venture of Onyx Equities and SL Green to a private investor.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s David Bernhaut, the level of investor interest in the offering reflects strong demand at a transformational time for the New Jersey Meadowlands market. He headed the assignment with team members Andrew Merin, Gary Gabriel, Brian Whitmer and Kyle Schmidt. “We are seeing an unprecedented level of investment throughout the region – billions of public and private capital invested in residential and retail development, infrastructure, mass transit, and entertainment,” Bernhaut said.
“The 2.9 million s/f American Dream Mall is back on track, representing the largest retail development project in North America and promising 10,000 permanent jobs and 50 million visitors per year,” according to Merin. “A joint venture between Seton Hall and Hackensack University Medical Center will anchor the repositioning of the 116-acre former Roche pharmaceutical headquarters on Rte. 3 into New Jersey’s first medical school. There has been a significant amount of new residential development in the Meadowlands. In fact, The Meadows sits adjacent to the proposed Highland Cross mixed-use development site, which will include residential, retail and hotel. All of this momentum is propelling the regional office market.”
Within this context, The Meadows – located at 201/301 Rte. 17 North at the intersections of Rte. 3 and the NJ Tpke. is one of Northern New Jersey’s few high-rise office towers outside of the Hudson Waterfront and the Newark CBD. The fully amenitized, institutional-quality property is nearly 90% leased, with tenants including MALO, Sony Music Entertainment, SGS North America and Shiseido Americas, among others.
The Meadows sits on an 8.8-acre site with a 4/1,000 parking ratio, 400-person cafeteria, conference center, onsite fitness and daycare centers, and unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline. The property was built in 1981 and extensively renovated in 2006 and again in 2014, when over $4.5 million was spent to improve lobbies, elevators, restrooms, both facades, the parking deck and other common areas.