Commercial real estate is a significant investment, and where there’s money involved, there’s bound to be litigation. BBG has expanded and enhanced its litigation support services line to assist more clients and their legal counsel who need help defending their commercial real estate investments . In October, BBG announced the acquisition of Izenberg Appraisal Associates, Inc., a Chatham, N.J.-based appraisal and consulting firm specializing in litigation services. With involvement in numerous precedent-setting cases, the group is highly regarded for industry-leading litigation support, valuation and expert testimony, and adds appreciably to BBG’s own litigation services.

Previously, in December 2018, BBG acquired Jerome Haims Realty, one of the largest providers of litigation support, arbitration and expert witness testimony services in the New York market. The latest acquisition brings both firms under the umbrella of BBG Litigation, offering five main service lines: litigation, eminent domain, expert witness testimony, arbitration and mediation.

BBG plans to roll out BBG Litigation support services to our offices nationwide. Given that New Jersey is a high-density state with an active CRE market, it makes sense for BBG to begin the rollout there, as well as expand our other service lines into this active  region.

Mixed-use

The trend is for mixed-use development geared to a live-work-play lifestyle outside of major city centers. In New Jersey, communities including Hoboken, Maplewood and Summit are meeting demands for walkable commutes, transit access, and easy access to retail, restaurants and recreation. Just as the live-work-play formula revived inner cities, investors are counting on it to do the same for suburbs with the “right bones.”

Industrial and Office

New Jersey’s industrial market is in rallying mode. Between the first and second quarters of 2019, leasing activity went up 20 percent, with the largest transactions coming from e-commerce retailers situated along the Turnpike corridor. Activity has begun to expand to submarkets farther west.

The New Jersey office market is holding steady, with vacancy reaching its lowest level in nearly a decade this year even as asking rents hit a new high. The trend toward live-work-play environments in the suburbs goes hand-in-hand with suburban office market growth.

Multifamily

Along with the live-work-play trend, multifamily developers are responding to demand for less living space and more community areas. Millennials have less stuff and many are remote workers, so new apartment buildings come with “purpose built co-working spaces.” Expect developers to keep tweaking this formula, however, because renter preferences are apparently fickle and there’s no guarantee which amenities will resonate with tenants.

Retail

Paramus, N.J., boasts of having the busiest retail ZIP code in the U.S., but in Jersey’s retail sector, all eyes are on the newly—albeit partially—opened American Dream mall in Meadowlands, a $5 billion project 17 years in the making. Always envisioned as a retail and entertainment complex, the latest of a string of owners reimagined it as a “community hub for tourists and locals.” Nearby, Garden State Plaza mall is aspiring to be a “mini city” with a mix of residential spaces, public gathering areas, restaurants and traditional retail.

BBG has on-the-ground experts who are up on all the real estate trends of the Garden State, as well as other key markets across the country. BBG offers full-service solutions across all property types, with deep expertise in the office, industrial, multifamily and retail sectors.

• Read more about BBG’s acquisition of Izenberg Appraisal Associates.
• Learn more about BBG Litigation.
• Contact us to learn more about BBG’s service lines and specialty practice areas.