Newton, NJ — The Kislak Company, Inc. announced the recent sale Merriam Gateway Apartments, a multifamily property with 101 units and 10,000 s/f of commercial space, at 69-75 Sparta Ave. in Newton, Sussex County for $22,580,000.
Kislak marketed the property on an exclusive basis on behalf of the seller, Merriam Gateway Apartments, Inc., with senior vice president Joseph Keenan handling the assignment. Senior vice president Justin Lupo procured the purchaser, The Cobblers Loft, LLC, which is an affiliate of Blue Diamond Equities, LLC.
The sale of Merriam Gateway Apartments is the largest multifamily sale ever in Sussex County based on data available from CoStar.
The property is a historic four-story elevator building. It was a once a shoe factory that was converted into an apartment building. The residential unit mix includes eight studios, three studios with lofts, 75 one-bedroom apartments and 15 two-bedroom apartments. Amenities include on-site parking and laundry facilities.
Following closing, the property was renamed The Cobbler Lofts.
“The offering garnered a tremendous amount of interest from investors since it is rare that a 100+ unit property under an hour from New York City not subject to rent control becomes available,” said Keenan. “This was a true valued add opportunity as the rents are on average 25% below market in an ideal location. The property sits across from the world headquarters of and adjacent to the future campus of Thorlabs, which is adding approximately 4,000 new employees to the area. The purchaser was quick to capitalize on these benefits and in the midst of the pandemic, a deal was made.”
Lupo commented, “This sale is an excellent example of the strong investor demand for income producing properties in northwestern New Jersey. While cap rate compression continues across the state, the opportunity to acquire larger assets in more tertiary markets is becoming increasingly attractive.
The purchaser will benefit greatly from the changing rental landscape in Newton given the ThorLabs campus and the thousands of new jobs it is attracting.”
The property is conveniently located one mile from downtown Newton and all of its commercial and retail offerings. Newton is also the county seat of Sussex County, which is approximately 60 miles west of New York City.