MORRISTOWN, N.J. (April 3, 2001) – Bergman Real Estate Group, a leading owner and manager of commercial office properties based in North Brunswick, NJ, has joined forces with Strategic Property Advisers (SPA) of San Diego for the acquisition of Morristown Office Centre, an 85,500 square foot office building, purchased on behalf of a New York based pension fund, a client of SPA.
Located on an attractive 4.99-acre site at 10 Madison Avenue, Morristown Office Centre is comprised of a lower level lobby featuring an on-site café, four full floors of class “A” office space, and a full service Valley National Bank with a drive through. The building was purchased from The Prudential Insurance Company of America, who had owned the property for the past ten years. Real estate brokers, Chris McManus, Jeffrey Dunne and Kevin Welch of CB Richard Ellis represented Prudential in this transaction.
“Unlike our typical acquisitions involving under-performing office properties, our initial role here was to identify a good quality office investment with stabilized returns for SPA’s pension fund client,” comments Michael Bergman, Vice President of Acquisitions, Leasing and Marketing for Bergman Real Estate Group. “Going forward, our role will be the same as for all of our properties, which is to provide professional, hands-on management and leasing services to satisfy our tenants, and therefore, to meet ownership’s objectives to insure the long term stability of the property.”
The property’s size was a good fit for the Bergman Group, whose office properties typically range between 25,000 and 175,000 square feet. The firm’s expertise in the acquisition, ownership and management of commercial office real estate in the Northern and Central New Jersey market was a key factor in SPA’s choice of Bergman as its partner.
John Lundsten, is Managing Director and Steven Ring, is Portfolio Manager for Strategic Property Advisers’, an investment advisory firm that serves over 58 clients with aggregate portfolios in excess of $165 million in assets. “We had no prior acquisition experience in New Jersey, but I have known Jerry Bergman for over 35 years dating back to our Tishman Realty days,” explains Mr. Lundsten. “Knowing Jerry’s professionalism and experience in the business, we had every confidence the alliance would be a success.” “The Bergman Group assisted us through the whole process, efficiently performing due diligence and underwriting the acquisition.” adds Mr. Ring. “Most importantly, because of their reputation, Bergman was a big help in our turning in the winning bid with CB Richard Ellis and Prudential.”
Morristown Office Centre enjoys a superb location just one block from the full interchange of Interstate 287 (Exit 35), providing convenient access to major NJ highways including, Routes 124, 202, 10, 24, 46, and I-80. The Building is in close proximity to downtown Morristown and The Morristown Green offering its tenants the convenience of mass transit (both bus and rail), shopping, banking and numerous eating establishments, all within a short 10-minute walk.
“The extensive urban revitalization of Morristown over the past several years has drawn many Fortune 500 companies to the area,” describes CB Richard Ellis’ Chris McManus. “Because of Prudential’s institutional quality ownership coupled with the property’s A+ location, Morristown Office Centre has attracted an impressive roster of tenants, including: Salomon Smith Barney, Axa Advisors (fka Equitable Life), Mutual of Omaha, Financial Executives International, Stanton Hughs and Valley National Bank.
Started in 1988 by Jerome Bergman, President and CEO, Bergman Real Estate Group is a professional real estate firm that specializes in the acquisition, ownership, management, leasing and construction supervision of commercial office buildings for itself, and its joint venture financial partners. Since its formation, Bergman has successfully acquired over 23 commercial properties worth in excess of $175 million, including 10 garden apartment properties containing over 3,500 units in Houston, Texas, and 13 office buildings in both Houston and New Jersey containing over 1.2 million square feet of office space.
