With the sale of The Crossings at Jefferson Park in Whippany, Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners have completed a benchmark New Jersey suburban office campus transformation. Barclays Capital – an anchor tenant at the 525,000-square-foot, Class A property – purchased the asset this week for $69 million.
In a joint venture partnership, Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners purchased the Crossings property, located at 115 South Jefferson Road, in 2013. The firms immediately launched a multi-million-dollar revitalization and rebranding of the 65-acre campus, with a redesign specifically focused on promoting health, wellness, and sustainability.
“From the outset, we recognized the outstanding potential of this property,” noted Vision Real Estate Partners’ Sam Morreale, founder and managing partner. “We purchased The Crossings for a smart price and invested significant capital in creating an environment that would attract today’s most discerning office space users. The fact that an existing tenant – particularly such a prominent tenant as Barclays Capital – approached us with the desire to become owner/occupier provides the greatest testament to what we have accomplished.”
The Crossings offers Class A space in three buildings, all of which were renovated as part of the repositioning. Notably, this included a complete gut and rebuild of the property’s 150,500-square-foot 200 Building, which has since attracted household-name tenants including Arthur J. Gallagher, PSKW and WithumSmith+Brown. The Crossings also serves as home to JP Morgan Chase and Lord Abbett. The buildings all emphasize spaces and services that foster productive, collaborative workplaces.
Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners also completed the multi-million-dollar adaptive reuse of a former powerhouse structure at The Crossings, introducing a stand-alone amenities center. Aptly named The Powerhouse, the 11,000-square-foot building provides enhanced gourmet food services with indoor and open-air seating; a multi-function business lounge with casual seating and WiFi; and a 2,300-square-foot health and wellness center offering state-of-the-art equipment, free weights, and locker rooms with showers.
The Powerhouse is the centerpiece of the redeveloped campus and furthers The Crossings’ distinctive work/play environment. It is located close to the property’s bike share station and bike storage, and 1.3 miles of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure – which connects directly to Morris County Parks Commission’s Patriots Path.
The 65-acre campus, highlighted by rolling berms, mature trees and abundant landscaping, originally housed a division of ITT and served as a data center for Bear Stearns. It includes enhanced electrical, HVAC and fiber infrastructure.
JLL’s Tom Walsh and Joe Garibaldi represented Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners in the Crossings sale. Dan Loughlan and Scott Lesh of JLL represented Barclays Capital.
The Crossings is the second major suburban New Jersey office investment recently completed by Vision Real Estate Partners and Rubenstein Partners in the Whippany section of Hanover Township. The companies in late 2016 wrapped up a pioneering, five-and-a-half-year initiative that successfully repurposed and redeveloped a 194-acre former Alcatel-Lucent campus at 67 Whippany Road.
Together, 67 Whippany Road and The Crossings represent $500 million in total investment volume and 1.9 Million square feet of existing and approved corporate space – a boon to the local, regional and state economies. Both projects speak to the value of productive public-private partnership in furthering New Jersey’s business appeal to major corporations.
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