Journal Square office building sold; to be converted to apartments

JSQ building sells
for $5.6 million
A 10-story mixed-use office building near Journal Square has sold for $5.6 million, and will be converted into — what else? — residential housing.
The 45,000-square-foot building, located at Academy Street and Bergen Avenue, includes a Bank of America on its ground floor. Grid Real Estate and CBRE announced the sale last week.
Bank of American will remain the building’s tenant, while the upper floors will be converted into 60 units of “high quality” housing, the two firms said.
The seller of the property was represented by Bob Antonicello, the former Jersey City Redevelopment Agency chief, and his son Bobby, as well as the CBRE Investment property team of Charles Berger, Elli Klapper and Mark Silverman.
In a press release, Antonicello said Journal Square is “well on its way to being one of the hottest neighborhoods in the state.” He noted plans for the old Mueller’s pasta factory on Baldwin Avenue, a nearby project on which he is a consultant.
“880 Bergen Ave. is an ideal residential conversion and a natural evolution of what is happening in Journal Square,” Antonicello said.
Grid and CBRE also worked on the $20 million sale of a 4-acre parcel on the West Side that included the now-shuttered Puccini’s restaurant.
TERRENCE T. MCDONALD
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2015/08/business_news_and_notes_22.html