Prism Capital Partners acquired a former corporate campus in Woodland Park it says offers “an ideal redevelopment play.”

Located at 385 Rifle Camp Road, the 33-acre site includes in-place zoning approval for up to 400 multifamily units, Prism principal partner Edwin Cohen said in an Oct. 1 announcement. Twenty percent of residences will be set aside for affordable housing.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Jose Cruz and Jeremy Neuer and Director Ryan Robertson represented the seller. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“At a time when New Jersey is facing a severe housing shortage, we were attracted by the opportunity to repurpose a former suburban corporate campus in an outstanding location,” Cohen commented.

He added the “gorgeous property” would ultimately add a “significant” number of new residences as well as affordable housing.

The property is convenient to Interstate 80 as well as Routes 46 and 3. It is also near the 300-plus-acre Garret Mountain Reservation, while providing views of the Manhattan skyline.

Changing landscape

Looking back at the third quarter of the year, Cushman & Wakefield highlighted a persistent “office demolition and re-use trend.” The firm pointed to the redevelopment of the Princeton Pike Office Park in Lawrence Township in its Oct. 3 announcement. There, demolition of three buildings will facilitate construction of more than 200 apartments. The project also includes 17,000 square feet of retail space.

In Woodland Park, Bank of New York formerly housed and owned the Rifle Camp Road property. When the company decided to sell at the start of the year, the move came as a surprise to township officials.

“We were both saddened and surprised” by the decision, Mayor Tracy Kallert said in her January 2024 State of the Borough address.

“We had been engaged in conversations with them for some time about the future of the property and they gave no indication they would be leaving, rather the opposite. While we cannot prevent development in that area, the council, our professionals, and I are committed to doing everything possible to minimize the overdevelopment of Woodland Park and the overtaxing of our borough resources.”

In March, Tap Into Passaic Valley reported Woodland Park updated the zoning of the property at 385 Rifle Camp Road. The change came in response to a 2018 settlement outlining the borough’s affordable housing commitments and obligations.