Edison Lofts sells for $131 million in West Orange

Connect CRE reports that Edison Lofts, a 334-unit multifamily community in West Orange, N.J., has sold for $131 million. Sym Investments is the buyer; Prism Partners and its capital partners were the sellers. The property at 33 Ashland Ave. is two buildings: The Residences at Edison Lofts, a 300-unit conversion of the historic Thomas Edison Battery Building, and The Mews at Edison Lofts, a 34-unit ground-up building. Nearly 19,000 square feet of retail is included. The price comes to roughly $392,000 per apartment.

Cushman & Wakefield represented both sides. Niko Nicolaou, Ryan Dowd, JP Hohl, Michael Guerra, Kelly Kellett, and Alexandria Russo Ebers led the sales effort. A separate Cushman & Wakefield group — John Alascio, Brad Domenico, and Chuck Kohaut — arranged a $91.7 million acquisition loan from New York Life with a full-term interest-only structure, which equals 70 percent of the purchase price.

“Edison Lofts attracted significant investor interest because it offers a combination that is increasingly difficult to replicate in today’s market,” Nicolaou said, according to Connect CRE. He pointed to the historic character, the scale and amenities, strong occupancy, and a favorable tax pilot. “It represented a rare opportunity to acquire a well-positioned multifamily asset in one of Northern New Jersey’s most active investment markets.”

The two-building layout complicates the per-unit math. A 300-unit conversion and a 34-unit ground-up building in one trade blend two very different products. The Residences bring the story; the Mews brings new construction. For a buyer, they read as a single stabilized asset. For anyone valuing either building separately, the deal leaves no clean split.

The “favorable tax pilot” Nicolaou cited is the quiet piece of the price. A tax pilot — a payment in lieu of taxes — tempers a property’s tax bill for a set term, and when years remain, part of that benefit lands in the purchase price. The Connect CRE report does not say how long this pilot runs or what it caps. Sym’s bid suggests meaningful length remains, but comparable analysis from this trade will need the abatement documents to adjust for it.

New York Life’s full-term interest-only loan is its own statement. With a full-term IO, the borrower makes no principal payments before maturity. That structure works when a lender sees steady cash flow and modest value risk. The rate is undisclosed, but the shape of the loan tells you the underwriting expects this property to keep producing.

The trade gives West Orange a clean comparable. Multifamily sales in Northern New Jersey often come in portfolios or with partial interests, pulling the per-unit number out of focus. Here the market gets one property, one price, one debt structure. Appraisers, lenders, and brokers will be working with those figures for months.

For Prism, the sale closes a familiar cycle: convert the obsolete manufacturing building, lease it up, and sell into a market the broker describes as active. For Sym, the purchase brings a tax shield and no amortization during the loan term. Capital rotating from development into income-producing real estate does not always leave such a legible price tag. This one is legible.