Panepinto Properties has acquired a Hudson River waterfront site for $75 million from Veris Residential with plans to build two apartment towers on the property.
Panepinto purchased Harborside 8 and 9, a 4.2-acre development parcel in Jersey City, New Jersey. The sale represents Veris's complete exit as owner from the Harborside complex, according to Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate investment trust's broker. Harborside — home to Veris's headquarters — is a sprawling mixed-use waterfront development featuring luxury residences, Class A office space and dining, retail and entertainment venues.
Jersey City, New Jersey-based Panepinto has the necessary entitlements to develop two mixed-use high-rises at its acquired site, which is in the Harsimus Cove Station Redevelopment Area, Cushman said on Tuesday. The parcel, located at 3 Second St. and 242 Hudson St., is currently a large surface parking lot.
Veris has been selling office buildings and non-core properties in its portfolio for several years now as part of its transition to a pure-play multifamily REIT. The recent sale to Panepinto is part of that drive.
Harborside 8 is fully approved — with complete construction drawings in place — to permit immediate development of a 65-story tower. That building will include 678 apartments, 8,578 square feet of retail space, a 350-space parking garage and a 40,000-square-foot redesigned public park along the Hudson River, according to Cushman.
Harborside 9 last year received site plan approval for a 57-story tower with 579 units, 14,800 square feet of retail space and a 555-space structured garage, Cushman said.
Both buildings are slated to offer extensive indoor and outdoor amenities, waterfront activation and connectivity to the surrounding Harborside campus.
“This acquisition reflects my long-standing belief that this formerly industrial waterfront would evolve into a modern, world-class community,” Joseph Panepinto Sr., founder and CEO of Panepinto Properties, said in a statement. “Having represented Jersey City in its early redevelopment, helping shape its rising skyline has been a defining part of my life's work. I look forward to keeping that progress a priority."
Positioned less than a quarter mile from the Exchange Place PATH station, the 8/9 Harborside site offers direct access to Manhattan’s World Trade Center in four minutes, Cushman said.
"The sale of the Harborside 8/9 land parcel represents a significant milestone in the continued execution of our strategic plan to monetize non-strategic assets and further strengthen our balance sheet," Mahbod Nia, the CEO of Veris, said in a statement.
Net proceeds from the deal are estimated to be roughly $69 million, which Veris said it plans to use to reduce debt.
Veris has racked up $542 million of nonstrategic property sales year to date, exceeding its original target of $300 million to $500 million, according to Nia.
The Cushman team had previously been involved in the sales of Harborside 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 — totaling $609 million — on behalf of Veris.
For the record
The Cushman & Wakefield Tri-State Capital Markets Team including Andy Merin, Niko Nicolaou, Ryan Dowd and JP Hohl — along with RePropCo’s Brian Whitmer — advised Veris.