One of Bergen-Lafayette’s newer developments has changed hands not long after construction wrapped at a property along one of the neighborhood’s major thoroughfares.
Matthews recently announced that 475 Communipaw Avenue has sold for $16.5 million. The project, which replaced a car wash with a mixed-use development, was designed by Bodnar Architectural Studio and includes 42 residential units.
The sale price of the building breaks down as $392,857 per unit, a price-per-unit record for multifamily properties sold within the last two years in the Bergen-Lafayette submarket, according to Matthews. The seller was the original developer, 475 Communipaw Junction LLC, while the buyer was Chris Yegen of Yegen Companies.
Matthews, led by First Vice President and Director David Ferber, represented the seller in the transaction. The seller elected to bring the asset to market to capitalize on pricing and pull out equity from the completed project. The firm also advised on timing and positioning for the property, ultimately bringing the asset to market at 90%+ occupancy.
In addition to the 42 residences, the development includes ground-floor retail space, 22 parking spaces, and a bicycle room for 47 bikes. Amenities in the development include a 1,440-square-foot rooftop deck and garden with planters, a gym for residents, and a first-floor lounge.
Matthews directly sourced a high-confidence buyer executing a 1031 exchange, supporting the certainty of close under an accelerated timeline. The transaction closed 75 days from contract signing at a 6.3% cap rate.
The buyer plans to hold long-term for cash flow and to benefit from continued rent growth in Jersey City and the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood, which has several major developments in the pipeline that Jersey Digs chronicled last year.
