American Real Estate Partners (AREP) and Independencia Sell 1100-1200 American Boulevard in Premier New Jersey Office Park for $95M

WASHINGTON, DC – American Real Estate Partners (AREP) and Independencia Asset Management announced today the sale of 1100-1200 American Boulevard in Hopewell Township, NJ to an undisclosed buyer for $95M. Originally built in 2000 as part of the Merrill Lynch corporate campus, the property was constructed to the highest quality standards and consists of three Class-A office buildings totaling 380,417 SF. AREP acquired the property in 2013 as part of its portfolio strategy to moderate risk within its value-add strategy. Under the terms of the agreement, AREP will continue to lease and manage the property. The asset is currently 100% leased to Merrill Lynch which was acquired by Bank of America in 2008.

“We were particularly impressed with everyone’s commitment to work through this transaction in one of the most complicated environments any of us have experienced,” said Brian Katz, President and Co-founder, AREP. “It was certainly a deal worth doing and the fact we got it done, particularly in this climate, is testament to the working relationship of all parties involved. We are proud of our team for executing the transaction, extremely pleased with the outcome for our investors, and excited to work in partnership with the new ownership going forward.”

“The property is an exceptional asset in the fifth largest market in the country and represented a strong acquisition for the buyer,” said David W. Bernhaut, Executive Vice Chairman of Cushman and Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group, the exclusive agent for the transaction. “The deal offered positive cash flow from an investment grade tenant for several years, desirable real estate centrally located between New York City and Philadelphia, and an opportunity to ensure management continuity by leveraging AREP’s operating platform. From our perspective, what made this deal work was the quality of the real estate and its tenancy as well as the manner in which AREP maintained the asset over their ownership tenure.”

The property, located in Hopewell Township, a premier suburban community in the Princeton/Route 1 Corridor submarket, offers convenient mass transit and highway access, proximity to major universities, a highly educated workforce, extensive area amenities, and a diverse housing base. The Princeton/Route 1 Corridor has been one of the State’s top submarkets for nearly two decades. Since 2004, the market has experienced a 20% increase in Class- A asking rents.

With over 191 MSF of investor owned space across 2,035 buildings, the area ranks among the top-5 markets in the United States. Widely known for its diverse tenant base and corporate headquarters presence, New Jersey is home to Novo Nordisk, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Johnson & Johnson, Dow Jones, NRG Energy, PNC Bank, AAA, BlackRock, and other Fortune 1000 companies.

Bernhaut concluded, “This transaction not only represented a win-win for all parties but further evidenced the strength and attractiveness of the New Jersey market even in challenging environments.”

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ABOUT AMERICAN REAL ESTATE PARTNERS (AREP)
Headquartered in the greater Washington metropolitan area, AREP is an institutional fund manager and operating partner focused on office and mixed-use repositioning and development. Since its founding in 2003, the Company has deployed over $4.0B across targeted geographies and acquired more than 17M SQFT of class-A real estate. AREP strives to bring a sense of place to each asset, making its properties more distinctive and desirable which, in turn, creates enhanced returns for its investors. For more information, please visit americanrepartners.com

ABOUT INDEPENDENCIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC (IAM)
Independencia Asset Management LLC (“IAM”) is a real estate asset management firm headquartered in Miami with an additional office in Boston. Since incorporating in US in 2004, IAM has invested in more than 18 million square feet of core-plus and value-add office, retail and industrial assets in 19 states with ten different local operating partners. To date, IAM has invested in over $3B worth of real estate assets through 50 different SPEs. IAM’s current portfolio consists of approximately $2.1B of assets under management through 32 different SPEs.