Sony sells, leases back Park Ridge office building for reported 16.8M

Joshua Burd//March 17, 2015//

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Sony Electronics Inc. has sold its Park Ridge office building to developer Hornrock Properties and will lease back part of the property for two years, firms involved with the deal said Monday.

Neither brokerage firm CBRE, which represented Sony, nor Hornrock disclosed terms of the deal in separate news releases. But a source familiar with the transaction, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the 220,887-square-foot property sold for $16.8 million.

After closing the sale, Paramus-based Hornrock said it will now look to add value and reposition the building while it has Sony as a tenant. The firm is hoping to capitalize on the appeal of a 37-acre campus that sits just a mile from the Garden State Parkway and five miles from the New York State Thruway.

“The acquisition of One Sony Drive is an excellent addition to our New Jersey portfolio and is consistent with our investment philosophy of acquiring assets that are located in distinguished towns and present value-add opportunities,” David Hornblass, a principal of Hornrock Properties, said in a prepared statement. “This is a Class A commercial property with tremendous appeal to new corporate tenants while also offering substantial prospective redevelopment opportunities.

“We look forward to implementing our strategy to unlock the full value of the property.”

Brokers Jeffrey Dunne, Kevin Welsh and Brian Schulz of CBRE Institutional Properties combined with Jeffrey Babikian of CBRE’s Saddle Brook office to represent Sony, according to the firm’s news release. The team also procured Hornrock as a buyer.

“The investment provides a unique opportunity for Hornock Properties to acquire a headquarters-quality building with a partial sale-leaseback, which will minimize carry cost while they market for lease the vacant space,” Welsh said. “Hornrock plans to capitalize on the property’s strategic location with access to one of New Jersey’s most affluent demographic bases and should do quite well with the investment.”

The deal comes amid other high-profile sale-leaseback deals in northern New Jersey, where investors are increasingly seeking opportunities to reposition older office buildings. In January, Sharp Electronics Corp. sold its Mahwah headquarters to Sitex Group for a reported $38 million, while leasing back the 147,000-square-foot building for 12 years.