Our Services

Project Management Services

Nassau Capital Advisors, LLC provides a full spectrum of project management and development services which focus on the proper planning, design and execution of real estate development projects.  We specialize in the management and development of mixed use, downtown redevelopment projects, as well as public/private partnerships formed to undertake development.

Case Study:  Our team managed the planning, design and development of the Park Plaza Redevelopment in downtown Princeton, NJ.  This project included the design and construction of a new 500-car municipal parking deck and public square for the Borough of Princeton, along with design and construction of two five-story commercial buildings as part of the redevelopment.  The two commercial buildings feature 77 units of upscale rental apartments along with first-floor retail stores.  The project has been developed pursuant to a public/private partnership between the municipality and our client, a related private development company.  The project won the coveted “Smart Growth” award for 2005 from New Jersey Future for excellence in redevelopment planning and design, as well as innovations in project financing.  Visit the project website at www.princetondowntownliving.com.

Strategic Development Advice

• Assessing the profitability of proposed development opportunities
• Assembling development sites quickly and efficiently
• Negotiating and structuring new development or redevelopment projects
• Restructuring existing leases or debt arrangements to create new value for clients

Case Study: The firm provided extensive financial advisory services to a private development corporation and the City of Trenton (NJ) in connection with the design, financing, and development of a 200-room hotel and corporate conference center constructed in downtown Trenton. The $55 million project is managed by Marriott Corporation, and is the centerpiece of the City's ambitious downtown renewal program. The project is distinguished by a number of innovative financing structures which our firm helped organize, including substantial capital contributions by public agencies, long-term state lease in an adjacent parking garage, and low-interest financing for the hotel and an attached parking garage. Nassau Capital Advisors, LLC also provided substantial assistance to the development corporation in negotiating contracts with the project design team, construction manager, bond underwriters and other key consultants.

Expert Witness Services

Dr. Robert Powell, Managing Director of the firm, has provided expert witness testimony and technical reports in connection with numerous land use, litigation and arbitration matters involving real estate over the past 15 years.  Such matters have included testimony regarding the financial and economic feasibility of proposed real estate projects, typically in connection with the consideration of a project by a municipal redevelopment agency, planning board or private lending institution. 

Expert reports and testimony provided by Dr. Powell typically focus on the key elements of project feasibility:

• What is the market for the proposed project, considering its location and the competitive environment in which it will operate?
• What is the project likely to cost to develop?
• Are the revenues from rents or sales projected for the project realistic?
• Based on a detail cash flow projection of revenues and expenses, what is the likely return over a typical holding period an investor might achieve if the project is built?  Is such a return competitive in the current capital markets?

Clients for whom such feasibility analysis has been provided include the Town of Cranford; the Borough of Spring Lake; and the Parking Authority of the City of Trenton.

In addition, Dr. Powell has provided expert witness services to clients in a number of complex litigation matters involving the taking of property by eminent domain for redevelopment purposes.  Dr. Powell has been qualified as an expert witness on matters of real estate financial feasibility by state and federal courts throughout New Jersey.   Clients in eminent domain cases have included the City of Asbury Park; the City of Long Branch; the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority; and the Mercer County Improvement Authority.

Economic Development Incentives

As a leader in the field of structuring economic development incentives for major corporations, Nassau Capital Advisors, LLC can assist clients in procuring financial incentives from state and local development agencies. Such incentives can often reduce the capital costs of a project by 25% or more. Such incentives frequently include:

• Real estate tax abatement
• Long-term, low interest subordinated financing
• Sales tax exemption on purchase of equipment
• Substantial energy cost reductions
• Grants for customized worker training
• Loans and grants for infrastructure improvements such as roads and utility services

The New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 provides investors with a number of highly-effective new incentive programs which we can assist clients in procuring.  These include:

• A new Economic Redevelopment Growth Grant (ERGG) Program, which utilizes up to 75% of the incremental increase in certain state and local taxes generated by a project to provide gap financing for up to 20% of project costs;

• An Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit (UTHTC) Program, which can provide an investor with up to a 100% state tax credit on qualified capital investments in projects located near an “urban transit hub.”  This program is available for office, industrial and even residential developments which satisfy the program guidelines.

• Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) grants to companies whose projects add new jobs in New Jersey; such grants can provide qualifying firms with annual grants over a 10 year period of up to 80% of the NJ withholding taxes paid on the wages of new employees.

Case Study: Nassau Capital Advisors, LLC represented Merrill Lynch & Co. in connection with the procurement of approximately $23 million in economic development incentives from the State of New Jersey for the development of a 1.5 million square foot office campus in Hopewell Township, NJ. In addition, our incentives group arranged $22 million in economic development incentives for Merrill Lynch from the City and State of New York for a 700,000 office acquisition in New York City. And most recently, we have arranged $31 million in development grants to Merrill Lynch in connection with the firm's leasing of 300,000 of office space in Jersey City, NJ for its expanding brokerage and investment banking operations. In each case, we worked closely with senior real estate officials at Merrill Lynch to prepare a strategy for incentives. We represented the firm in the negotiations for such incentives, and our legal group assisted Merrill Lynch in completing the necessary agreements with the public agencies.

Debt and Equity Financing for Income Property

• Conventional mortgage loans
• Joint venture equity
• Government agency financing and incentives for multi-family and economic redevelopment projects.

We represent only borrowers, not lenders. This means our efforts and allegiance are focused exclusively on the interests of our clients in procuring the most competitive financing package in the market.

Case Study: Nassau Capital Advisors, LLC procured $26 million in construction and permanent financing to fund the construction of a 166,000 s.f. package distribution facility for Federal Express in New York City. Our client, a leading developer of commercial properties in the Northeast, arranged a 20-year lease with Federal Express for a build-to-suit development on a leasehold interest in Lower Manhattan. Our financing package included a construction and non-recourse permanent loan commitment through a single lending source, and a forward 15-month rate-lock commitment on the permanent loan which was issued at commencement of construction of the project.

Investment Sales of Income Property

• Portfolio dispositions
• Single building sales
• Joint venture transactions
• Forward commitments to acquire development of new income property.

Case Study: The principals of the firm completed the sale of a Class A suburban office portfolio in the Philadelphia market as exclusive agent for the Henderson Group. The property included three office buildings totaling 371,000 s.f. of space plus a pad approved for an additional 135,000 s.f. Following a very competitive process and analysis of multiple offers, we assisted the client in consummating a sale with Mack-Cali Realty, a national REIT organization based in Cranford, NJ.

Our values are an essential part of the service we provide to clients.

• Uncompromising trust and integrity form the essential foundation of each of our client relationships. Our commitment to the interests of our clients is total, and we understand that we reach our goals only when our clients reach theirs. The reputation of our principals for integrity and honorable dealing, hard-won over many years of successful transactions in the real estate capital markets, enhances our ability to execute and close transactions for our clients efficiently and without needless delays or complications.

• We are tenacious on behalf of our clients, whether the project involves a $5 million refinancing, a $25 million economic development incentive package or a $100 million portfolio sale. Our negotiating prowess is second-to-none. Our mission is to exceed your expectations on every project.

• We believe creative, entrepreneurial solutions can add the most value to a client's business, so we bring our broad experience in real estate development and finance, both as agents and principals, to each assignment. Our clients have been extremely pleased with our performance in executing transactions such as debt offerings or investment sales. But most will agree that our greatest value is the advice we provide throughout the transaction concerning the development of a strategy and identification of unexpected opportunities to create value across all elements of the firm's business. Perhaps these qualities we bring to our assignments explain why we have developed so many multiple-project relationships with our growing roster of clients.