Veris’ Jersey City land sale fetches $58M

A 1.3-acre multifamily development site in one of the nation’s hottest rental markets – Jersey City – has traded for $58 million.

Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE said they co-arranged the sale of the so-called Harborside 4 lot on behalf of seller, Veris Residential. The property, at 20 Christopher Columbus St., will eventually house 800 residential units, according to the Oct. 30 announcement. It was acquired by Related.

“Veris and Related worked diligently together to close the deal, with both sides getting creative to overcome challenges associated with former site limitations and restrictions,” said Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chairman Andy Merin. “The proposed project will continue to transform Jersey City’s Exchange Place community into a vibrant, high-end rent district offering future residents top-quality, luxury product.”

Merin worked with Executive Vice Chairman David Berhaut, Vice Chairman Gary Gabriel, Executive Director Frank DiTommaso and Managing Director Ryan Dowd in coordination with CBRE Vice Chairman Jeff Dunne, Chairman Bill Shanahan and Senior Managing Director Roland Merchant.

The acquisition highlights the strength of Jersey City’s rental market, where more than 7,400 units were delivered over the past five years. Despite that, occupancy levels are at 96%, according to the announcement.

First reported by Commercial Observer over the summer, the move signifies Related’s entrance to the Garden State market.

The site of the forthcoming “high-rise rental project” is steps from mass transit options, including the PATH, NJ Transit Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, NY Waterway Ferry, and NJ Transit bus and rail stations. The Holland Tunnel is less than a mile from the site, currently a surface parking lot, and a 5-minute commute to New York City.

The city’s downtown business district has seen the addition of a number of multifamily rental options in recent years, including Veris’ Haus 25.

In April, Veris announced it completed its $420 million sale of Harborside 1, 2 and 3 in Jersey City, with the Cushman & Wakefield-CBRE cohort co-arranging that transaction as well. To date, the teams said they have arranged $524 million worth of sales over several years on behalf of Veris as it works to offload its Harborside Portfolio, including the $46 million sale of Harborside 6 that closed in the third quarter on 2023.

Just one property remains, Harborside 5: A 33-story trophy office tower.

Since reinventing itself as Veris Residential from the former Mack-Cali Realty Corp., the company has been working to transform into a pure-play multifamily REIT, disposing of assets that do not align with that goal.

In the company’s Q3 results, released last week, Veris said it closed $135 million in non-strategic sales since June 30, with approximately $71 million of non-strategic assets remaining under binding contract for sale.

“The third quarter marked another period of positive results, a testament to our Class A multifamily portfolio, leading operational platform and continued execution of non-core asset sales,” Veris CEO Mahbod Nia said in a statement accompanying the results. “Our recent transaction closings, despite a deteriorating transaction market backdrop, provided us with valuable liquidity and the ability to repay our transitional loan facilities in just three months. Additionally, on the operational front, we continued to outperform, reporting Same Store NOI growth of over 17%, while rents across the multifamily sector saw widespread softening. We enter the next chapter of Veris Residential’s evolution from a position of strength, as we seek to continue creating value for our shareholders.”