Our clients include both municipalities and other governmental agencies, as well as private developers and private not-for-profit educational institutions.
Private Development Experience
Our principals have had leading roles as principals in structuring and overseeing a number of successful private downtown redevelopment projects in New Jersey over the past several years.
Rose Hall Redevelopment Project
Green Village Road
Downtown Madison, NJ
Bob Powell was the team leader in negotiating acquisition agreements, site plan strategy and entitlement approvals for the redevelopment of this 5-acre project in downtown Madison, NJ (Morris County). The site was acquired from the Borough of Madison through a competitive process, and has been developed with 135 luxury rental apartments and condominium units in the heart of this historic community, a block away from the NJ Transit rail station. The project includes a long-term PILOT agreement, a percentage of which is dedicated by the Borough to the Madison Public Schools to offset rising costs in its annual expense budget.
Princeton Downtown Redevelopment Project
Witherspoon Street
Princeton, NJ
Bob Powell served as the leader of the team which developed the Princeton Downtown Redevelopment project in Princeton, NJ. The project is a public/private partnership with the Town of Princeton, undertaken on a former municipal parking lot, under a long-term ground lease from the Town to the development entity. The project features 74 luxury apartments (including 12 “affordable” units), retail space, and a 500-car parking garage. In 2005 the project received the coveted “Smart Growth” award from New Jersey Future. The project featured a long-term tax abatement agreement between the redeveloper and Princeton providing for substantial long-term revenues to the municipality which have been used to finance the municipal parking garage.
Real Estate Financial Advisor to Municipalities
In our representation of municipalities, we are frequently engaged to assist a town in negotiations with a private developer. Often our focus is the need for, and structure of, tax abatement agreements, including PILOT agreements pursuant to the Long Term Tax Abatement Statute. These PILOT agreements often also include the use of Redevelopment Area Bond financing (often referred to as “RAB Bonds”).
Here are several recent assignments successfully completed.
- Borough of Chatham, NJ (Morris County) – Nassau Capital Advisors served as real estate financial advisor to the Borough in connection with the River Road Redevelopment Project, a 259-unit mixed use redevelopment sponsored by BNE Real Estate Group, currently under development. The project features upscale apartments (including affordable units), and street-level retail space. Our firm assisted the Borough in structuring a long-term tax abatement agreement (PILOT) for the project.
- Town of Morristown, NJ (Morris County) – Nassau Capital Advisors served as real estate financial advisor to Morristown in connection with the planning, approvals and development of the new M-Station Office Complex downtown by the train station totaling approximately 375,000 square feet. The project, currently under construction, represents a $230 million capital investment in the downtown. The first of two buildings to be built has been pre-leased to a leading financial services and accounting firm. Our team led the negotiations over the financial terms of a 30-year PILOT agreement, the phasing of the project, and the funding of off-tract public improvements utilizing an innovative RAB bond financing mechanism.
- Westfield, NJ – Nassau Capital advised the Town of Westfield on the financial structuring of a long-term tax abatement agreement for Westfield Crossing. The project, will include 161 new rental apartments (of which 32 will be affordable) and 17,000 square feet of retail space. The project is located outside the downtown CBD on an underutilized site designated as “an area in need of redevelopment.”
Redevelopment of Moorestown Mall, Moorestown, NJ
Nassau Capital Advisors served as real estate financial advisor to Moorestown Township, NJ (Burlington County) in recent negotiations with the owner of the Moorestown Mall. These negotiations led to approval of a transformative redevelopment plan that will include dozens of new retail stores, construction of a 3-floor outpatient center operated by Cooper University Health Care System, and construction of a new 375-unit apartment complex at the site (including 75 units for low and moderate income families). The 84-acre Mall on Route 38 originally opened in 1963. In the past decade however, the Mall lost three of its four anchor department stores as well as dozens of smaller retail tenants. Construction of the new improvements enabled by the redevelopment plan has led to a rebirth of the Mall, with 95% of the facility now fully leased.
- Washington Township (Gloucester County) – Our firm served as financial advisor to the Township in connection with settlement of litigation between the Township and a designated redeveloper of a 400-unit residential and mixed-use project. The litigation was focused on the need for (and specific structure of) a PILOT agreement for the project, and the mix of affordable units to be built. We were instrumental in assisting the Township in settling the litigation on terms favorable to the community, and the project is now nearing completion.
- Hackettstown, NJ – On behalf of our private development client, our firm structured and negotiated a long-term property tax abatement (PILOT) for the benefit of a 240-unit inclusionary apartment project.
- Phillipsburg, NJ – We represented the municipality in negotiating a complex tax abatement agreement that included RAB bond financing, to facilitate development of 3 million square feet of modern warehouse-distribution space; the project has been completed.