Class A office building in Northern New Jersey receives $31M refinancing

MORRISTOWN, N.J. - August 22, 2022 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged a $31 million refinancing for Liberty Hall Center I, a 210,000-square-foot, Class A office building located at 1085 Morris Avenue in Union, New Jersey.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Liberty Hall Joint Venture, LLC, to secure the loan through Knighthead Funding, LLC.  The loan proceeds refinanced an expiring loan and provided additional funding for base building capital improvements and future tenant allowances.

Designed in 1988 by architectural firm Wallace Roberts & Todd, Liberty Hall Center I was originally built as the headquarters for Elizabethtown Gas, a regional natural gas utility company that has since departed the property. The building features a five-story glass atrium lobby, a full-service café, conference center, atrium event space, four elevators, a well-designed central core, outdoor hardscaped lounge areas and covered executive parking.

Liberty Hall Center I is located directly across from Kean University’s main campus, and is proximate to Union Station Corporate Center, Hynes Hall, Vermella Union, the Shoppes at Vermella Union and Kean University’s New Jersey Center for Science Technology and Mathematics. In addition, the property is 22 miles southwest of Manhattan and provides exceptional access to the region’s transportation networks, including Garden State Parkway, Interstate 78, Route 22 and the New Jersey Turnpike.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Jon Mikula, Director Max Custer and Vice President Michael Lachs.

“Liberty Hall Center I is a unique Class A office building located in a dynamic suburban market at the doorstep of Kean University’s campus,” said Custer. “With much of the building’s rentable square footage recently becoming available, Knighthead Funding did an excellent job understanding the property’s evolution and the borrower’s strategic value add business plan. We are thrilled to have assisted in arranging this financing relationship.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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