Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Trade of 99 Wood Avenue South

On Nov 7, 2014

Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group has orchestrated the sale of 99 Wood Avenue South in Iselin, which TA Associates Realty purchased. A notably high level of institutional interest in the 272,000-square-foot, trophy office building speaks to the Metropark Office Market’s resurgence.

With high visibility from the Garden State Parkway, 99 Wood Avenue South benefits from its transit hub location at the crossroads of the Garden State Parkway, NJ Turnpike, routes 1, 9, and 440, and I-287. The owner recently invested approximately $3 million in building renovations and system upgrades at 99 Wood Avenue South. The 10-story office tower’s market-leading features were recognized with the 2012 TOBY Award (The Outstanding Building of the Year).

“99 Wood Avenue South is the definition of a core office offering, with sub market leading quality, visibility/identity, amenity package, and a tenant roster filled with strong regional and national credits,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Gary Gabriel, who brokered the sale with Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group team members Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut, Kyle Schmidt and Brian Whitmer, along with office specialist Ed Duenas. “This has enabled it to consistently outperform the market and historically maintain a consistently high level of occupancy.”

At the time of the sale, 99 Wood Avenue South was 91 percent leased, with proposals out to fill the balance of the building. Its roster contains a mix of large and small tenants ranging from full-floor users to units as small as 1,700 square feet, with well known names including Ernst & Young, Citibank, M&T Bank, and Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis.

According to Bernhaut, robust interest from institutional buyers speaks to the competitive positioning of 99 Wood Avenue South – as well as its neighborhood. “The Metropark submarket is recognized as being among the best highway and mass transit served office locations in the state,” he noted. “And while the market struggled through the recession, it clearly has rebounded. Occupancies have tightened, and rental rates have come back. As tenant demand outpaces supply, investor appetite has strengthened considerably.”

Based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Cushman & Wakefield’s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group specializes exclusively in investment sales of office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties throughout New Jersey, New York, Fairfield County, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The team has completed more than $17 billion worth of transactions since 2000, closing on $1.5 billion in 2013.

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