By: Alex Philippidis
Convinced that Westchester’s office market is healthier than the vacancy rate would indicate, a New Jersey investor has expanded its portfolio into the county.
Ivy Equities L.L.C of Clifton, NJ, has acquired the 148,911 square-foot 399 Knollwood Road, on Route 100A in White Plains (town of Greenburgh), and has begun renovations at an earlier acquisition, the 64,000 square-foot 33 West Main St., on Route 119 in Elmsford.
Ivy Equities oversees a portfolio of 1.1 million square feet, most of it in northern New Jersey. Over the next year, Ivy Equities plans to acquire two additional office buildings in Westchester, hoping to capitalize on undervalued properties in a market where the percentage of vacant office space calculated by a half-dozen brokerages hovers in the mid-teens.
“From a vacancy perspective, Westchester is weaker than the other sub-markets in the metropolitan area. But from all the other properties - quality of life, road system, proximity to New York City - Westchester is at least as strong a sub-market as the others. The vacancy rate does not reflect the other factors which bode well for acquiring and adding value to properties in Westchester,” said Anthony DiTommaso, president of Ivy Equities.
At 33 West Main St., Ivy Equities has spent $300,000 on renovations to the interior, the ceilings and HVAC system, with plans to improve the class B building with new roof work, parking lot repairs and high-speed Internet access. “The building is a real solid mid-market building in a solid location, but it still needs a bit of care to make it even better,” DiTommaso said.
33 West Main Street is 85 percent leased to a variety of business and professional tenants. One source of future tenants, DiTommaso said, will be businesses looking for a lower-priced alternative to the top-dollar rents commanded by class A office buildings further west on Route 119 in Tarrytown.
“We don’t have an atrium and a waterfall, but that’s what you’re saving money on,” DiTommaso said.
Rents for 33 West Main hover around $18-$19 per square foot, compared to $23-$24 for the class A 399 Knollwood - also known as Crosswest Office Center. Newmark & Company Real Estate Inc. is marketing Ivy’s Westchester properties.
Unlike the Elmsford building, 399 Knollwood is in good shape and does not need renovation work, DiTommaso said.
Ivy Equities purchased 399 Knollwood from Lehman Brothers Inc. entity Commercial Properties 4 L.P. in a sale concluded on December 31. Ivy Equities paid $15.6 million for the building according to a sale deed filed January 5 with the Westchester County Clerk’s office. Representing Lehman in the sale were Kevin Haggerty and Colleen Sheridan of Insignia/ESG (Inc.) Capital Advisors.
“They want to continue to invest in their properties and manage them in a first- class manner,” said William V. Cuddy Jr., managing director with Insignia/ESG. “They may have acquired their first buildings in Westchester, but I would be surprised if these were their last.”
About Ivy Realty
Founded in 1996, Ivy Realty, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivy Equities, is a leading real estate investor and developer throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Ivy targets investment opportunities in undervalued, high grade, income producing commercial properties. The Company has built a reputation for successfully completing a wide spectrum of creative developments in the office, mixed-use, retail, build-to-suit and residential sectors. Currently, Ivy Realty owns, manages and leases a 3.5 million-square-foot portfolio with added development potential throughout the tri-state area.
For more information contact Ivy Realty at their Montvale, New Jersey headquarters at (201) 573-8400 or visit the website at www.ivy-realty.com.
