Mack-Cali Buys 101 Hudson for $329M

JERSEY CITY-Mack-Cali Realty is the dominate office building owner on this city’s Hudson River waterfront, and the Cranford-based REIT has just solidified that position with the news that it’s going to buy one of the submarket’s trophy assets. Two of the company’s subsidiaries are under contract to buy 101 Hudson St., a 42-story, 1.2-million-sf class A office tower here.”101 Hudson St. is a premier property with an impressive tenant roster and stable occupancy,” says Mitchell E. Hersh, president and CEO of Mack-Cali. He notes that the asset is currently 97% leased to seven tenants, including Merrill Lynch, AIG and Lehman Brothers.Merrill Lynch is the dominant tenant with an occupancy of 600,000 sf, and the asset is frequently referred to in the market as the Merrill Lynch building. The property also includes a four-story parking garage. “We’re especially pleased to acquire this asset at an attractive price,” Hersh continues, referring to the announced sale price of $329 million. That price tag factors out to nearly $275 per sf. Hersh also expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of next year.A Mack-Cali spokesperson declined to identify the seller of the asset, disclosing only that Eastdil Realty Co., New York, “is representing the seller.”However, 101 Hudson St. was developed by LCOR Inc. of Berwyn, PA for a reported $233 million as part of the redevelopment of the former Colgate-Palmolive manufacturing site back in the ’90s, and the property is currently listed on LCOR’s website as part of its portfolio. According to a source with knowledge of the deal, the seller is “a group that includes LCOR.” LCOR officials could not be reached for comment.”The acquisition of this trophy building further enhances our position as an owner of class A office space on the Jersey City waterfront,” Hersh says. “When this transaction is completed, Mack-Cali will own more than 4.3 million sf of class A space on the waterfront, which represents more than 25% of the submarket’s total class A office space.”Most of that space is in Harborside Financial Center, a multi-building, multi-use project initially developed by Mack-Cali. Besides the space the company owns outright, it manages another 1.2 million sf of such space in the submarket.