Mack-Cali to Increase Focus on Apt. Sector

Mack-Cali Realty Corp. plans to sell some $450 million of non-core office properties this year to raise cash that it would invest in the apartment sector.

The Edison, N.J., REIT expects to make $160 million of multifamily acquisitions in the first half and invest another $180 million developing properties from scratch during the year, according to Barry Lefkowitz, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The office properties it plans to sell include $100 million of deals that are expected to close during the first quarter. Those properties are being sold at prices that result in capitalization rates of 6 percent. The remaining properties would close later in the year and would bring in prices that result in cap rates of about 8 percent. Mitchell Hersh, Mack-Cali’s chief executive, said that all of the proceeds from the planned $450 million of sales would go into multifamily and mixed-use investments. The REIT’s mixed-use properties usually include apartment components. Both Hersh and Lefkowitz spoke on a conference call with analysts last week.

The REIT, as of the end of last year, owned all or stakes in 267 office and office/flex properties with about 31.1 million square feet combined and 12 multifamily properties with more 3,600 units, all in the Northeast.

Office properties it has on the sales market include 22 Sylvan Way, a 249,409-sf office building in Parsippany, N.J. HFF has the listing, which is expected to fetch about $100 million, or about $401/sf.

Mack-Cali established its platform for buying and managing multifamily properties in 2012 via its $115 million acquisition of Roseland Partners, a Short Hill, N.J., property manager and developer that owned six properties with 1,769 units and several other commercial properties, all in northern New Jersey.