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Veris Residential Inc. completed its previously announced $420 million sale of Harborside 1, 2 and 3 in Jersey City.

According to the environmentally and socially conscious real estate investment trust, the disposition of the trio of office buildings, announced April 5, releases approximately $360 million of net proceeds.

After closing, the former Mack-Cali Realty Corp. – which has realigned its focus to primarily own, operate, acquire and develop multifamily properties – said such assets now account for approximately 98% of its net operating income. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, that figure was 39%.

A Cushman & Wakefield team featuring Executive Vice Chairs Andy Merin, David Bernhaut and Gary Gabriel; Executive Director Frank DiTommaso; Senior Financial Analyst Max Helfman; and Adam Spies (now with Newmark) co-arranged the transaction with CBRE. The deal was announced in October 2022, along with the completed $346 million sale of 101 Hudson St. in Jersey City.

“The sale of Harborside 1/2/3 represents a significant milestone and a critical step in the company’s transition to a pure-play multifamily company,” Veris Residential CEO Mahbod Nia said in a statement. “The closing of this transaction completes over $2 billion of non-strategic asset sales during the past two years.

“As we approach the final stages of our transformation, our focus will be on concluding the few remaining non-strategic asset sales and working with our Board to unlock the substantial value embedded in the company for our shareholders,” he said.

In connection with closing of the Harborside transaction, Veris Residential terminated its revolving credit and term loan agreement from May 2021.

According to an April 5 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA was sole bookrunner and joint lead arranger, administrative agent and a lender; Capital One NA, was joint leader arranger, syndication agent and a lender; and Bank of America NA, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, The Bank of New York Mellon, Associated Bank NA, and People’s United Bank NA were lenders for the credit agreement. Per the disclosure, the company did not have any outstanding borrowings under the credit agreement as of April 4, 2023.

Veris Residential also exercised its right to purchase and redeem the preferred units and certain other ownership interests from Rockpoint Group LLC and its affiliates in Veris Residential Trust.

Exercising that Put/Call right, the company said, triggers a repayment within 30 days, which would be May 5, unless Rockpoint exercises its right to defer repayment by up to 12 months, which it must do within 10 days, or by April 15. According to the SEC filing, “If Rockpoint does not exercise its right to defer the closing, the Company estimates the redemption value of the Put/Call Interests to be approximately $480 million.”

Veris Residential Chief Investment Officer Jeff Turkanis said the Harborside closing speaks to the determination of the team at Veris, adding, “We have proven our ability to navigate complex dispositions amidst challenging market conditions.”