NYC Firm Pays Nearly $93M for Northern New Jersey Multifamily Property Portfolios
Real Estate In-Depth | January 8, 2021
49 Prospect Ave., East Orange, NJ
SADDLE BROOK, NJ—New York City-based Spaxel LLC, a multifamily developer and operator, has acquired two multifamily portfolios totaling 24 properties in Northern New Jersey for $92.5 million.
The deal totaling 702 units, announced by brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap, was one of the largest 2020 multifamily sales transactions in 2020. Spaxel has a significant portfolio of properties in the Bronx, according to the company's website.
Richard Gatto and Fahri Ozturk in Marcus & Millichap's New Jersey office represented the seller, a partnership between ERCT Capital Group, MAVeCap and Metropolitan America. Eric Anton and Chris Warner in the firm's Manhattan office represented the purchaser, Spaxel LLC, which is led by managing partner Granit Gjonbalaj.
"This was a special deal for us since we worked with the seller to assemble the entire 702-unit portfolio over the past two and a half years," said Gatto. "It was rewarding to help our client generate a significant return, even more so because we were able to execute in the middle of a pandemic."
"This portfolio offered an opportunity to invest in an urban area with strong metrics, coupled with low vacancy and substantial upside," added Ozturk. "We received significant interest with 12 qualified offers within short period of time and sent out multiple contracts, showing strong interest from the market."
The properties are the "North Jersey Commuter Portfolio," a 390-unit collection in East Orange and the "North Jersey Garden Portfolio," a 312-apartment portfolio in Irvington. "
Spaxel is led by Managing Partner Gjonbalaj, who previously served as Chief Development Officer at WeWork, and Chairman David Hamamoto, whose background includes serving as CEO and Chairman of Northstar Realty, CEO of Morgans Hotel Group, and Co-Head of Real Estate at Goldman Sachs.