Multi-Employer Property Trust (MEPT) and its real estate advisor, Bentall Kennedy, announce MEPT’s purchase of Newport Tower, a 1.1-million-sq.-ft. high-rise office tower in Jersey City, for $377.5 million from Brookfield Office Properties.
MEPT is a $5.3 billion open-end commingled real estate equity fund, and acquired the class-A office building through a limited partnership subsidiary.
Built in 1990, Newport Tower is 89 percent leased to several high-credit financial service firms and related service companies with limited rollover risk over the next several years. The building is located in the Hudson Waterfront submarket, directly across the river from Lower Manhattan, and offers direct access to Midtown and Downtown via the Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) commuter train. The building is LEED Gold-certified.
“Newport Tower is a significant acquisition for MEPT since it provides the Fund with an investment in a high-quality, stabilized asset in the New York-New Jersey market, which is one of the strongest office markets in the U.S.,” said David Antonelli, executive vice president and MEPT portfolio manager at Bentall Kennedy, in a statement. He added, “The property’s sustainable features and energy-efficient operations are a complement to MEPT’s existing office portfolio and consistent with the Fund’s global leadership in environmental performance.”
Bentall Kennedy has completed over $1 billion in acquisitions in 2011 for MEPT, according to Mark Standiford, Bentall Kennedy senior vice president of acquisitions.
CBRE represented Brookfield Office Properties, and was retained by Bentall Kennedy on behalf of MEPT for property management and leasing.