NAIOP NJ Announces CRE Deal of the Year Winners

The Garden State’s commercial real estate community recognized the achievements of leading professionals and firms and the state’s most impactful transactions of 2022 as NAIOP New Jersey hosted its 35th Annual Commercial Real Estate Awards Gala recently at the Palace at Somerset Park.

In his opening remarks, NAIOP NJ President Constantino T. “Gus” Milano, president and COO of Hartz Mountain Industries, said, “Our honorees truly represent the best of real estate and economic development. They’re inspired by a commitment to excellence in transforming New Jersey communities, and all of them will have a lasting, positive impact on our state and our industry.”

The Charles Klatskin Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Gene Preston, who recently retired from Dermody Properties. Preston developed and acquired nearly 28 million square feet of industrial and logistics space representing approximately $2 billion of invested capital during his career. An active member of NAIOP for 33 years, he served as president of the New Jersey Chapter in 2019 and 2020.

David Gockel, president/CEO of Langan, and Onyx Equities, whose founders and managing principals are John Saraceno and Jonathan Schultz, accepted the Impact Award in recognition of their influence on the industrial and office development communities. Anthony Coscia, partner at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf LLP, was honored with the Industry Service Award in recognition of his considerable contributions in support of the industry’s goals.

The Caren S. Franzini Public Partner Award, which recognizes champions of economic development that inspire and transform communities, was presented to City of Linden Mayor Derek Armstead.

Deal of the Year Awards

In addition to celebrating the achievements of leading commercial real estate professionals and firms, NAIOP NJ recognized the year’s most impactful real estate transactions. Deal of the Year winners in three categories – Industrial, Office and Mixed-Use – were chosen by a panel of judges based on impact on the community and marketplace; degree of complexity and/or uniqueness; innovative strategies; and creative problem solving.

Office Deal of the Year: Party City Headquarters Operations Lease, Woodcliff Lake. As the first-ever New Jersey Economic Development Authority Emerge Program recipient, Party City Holdings Inc. secured a 7-year, $9.996 million tax credit for its 208,911-square-foot Class A headquarters lease at 100 Tice Blvd. Involved in the deal: Party City, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills Studley, CBRE, Inc. and Gensler.

Industrial Deal of the Year: Target at Logan North, Logan Township. The team of Greek Development, Advance Realty Investors and CBRE successfully leased a 1.7-million-square-foot omnichannel flow center to Target Corp. The asset traded for a record-breaking $265 million when Torchlight Investors of New York bought the building in September 2021.

Mixed-Use Deal of the Year: HalRay Newark Portfolio, Newark. The HalRay Newark Portfolio is a three-building portfolio totaling approximately 800,000 square feet of office/retail space with a 901-space parking deck. The sponsors have planned approximately $40 million of capital improvements with the goal of driving further activity along the Halsey Corridor and throughout the city. Involved in the deal: Hanini Group, Shift Capital, Colnvestment Partners, Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP and JLL Capital Markets.

A special Transformation Award went to RCINJ Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, a partnership among New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco), Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Health, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences and Middlesex County that will bring New Brunswick the state’s first freestanding cancer hospital.

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