Marcus Partners, a real estate investment, management, and development firm, has sold 44 Whippany, a 97 percent leased, 232,000 s/f Class A office property in Morristown, NJ.
The purchaser is Liberty Properties LLC and the transaction closed at $50 million.
“44 Whippany is a terrific example of the successful value-add strategy enabled by in our in-house vertical integration,” said David Fiore, principal and New York Regional Director for Marcus Partners.
“We delivered a best-in-class product that drew 140,000 s/f of new tenancy within six months of upgrade completion, bringing the property from 47 to 97 percent leased.”
Marcus Partners purchased the property in 2017 and completed a $7 million capital improvement program that year, which introduced new lobby and common area finishes.
The initiative also involved the addition of a new Starbucks-branded, full-service café and a 95-seat conference center. The fitness center was completely upgraded, adding all new LifeFitness and Peloton equipment. Major façade improvements included targeted floor-to-ceiling glass installations and the activation of 3rd floor roof terraces, new boilers and 3rd floor HVAC. Outside, the program added exterior patio installations, new landscaping and property signage, while expanding and repaving the surface parking areas.
Jose Cruz, Kevin O’Hearn, Stephen Simonelli and Michael Oliver of JLL represented both Marcus Partners and Liberty Properties LLC in the transaction.
