Continued resilience in New Jersey’s suburban commercial corridors was on display as two notable office properties changed hands in Central New Jersey. The transactions, which underscore a steady appetite for small-to-mid-sized commercial assets, were arranged by Marc Shein, executive vice president of NAI DiLeo-Bram & Co., who represented ownership in marketing both properties.
The dual sales highlight localized demand from private investors and healthcare occupiers looking for high-visibility locations with seamless connectivity to local transit and retail hubs.
“These properties were ideal for user-purchasers, a sector that remains active,” Shein noted. “Boutique retail and office properties are experiencing highly localized, resilient demand. Both properties are well-located, within or near dynamic community hubs.”
In Middlesex County, Shein brokered the sale of 36 Middlesex Ave. in Metuchen to an unnamed private investor. The property features a vacant, highly recognizable former Wells Fargo bank branch, complete with a bright, all-glass front facade, a partial basement, and an expansive dedicated parking lot.
Situated in the borough’s versatile G2 Gateway Zone at the North Edison border, the high-exposure asset sits along a premier highway corridor. Under the current zoning framework, the site is well-suited for:
- Financial institutions
- Traditional offices
- Medical practices
Additionally, the municipality has indicated an openness to adaptive reuses, such as a cafe or restaurant, via standard variance procedures. The property benefits from premier transit-oriented positioning, located just minutes from both the Metuchen and Metro Park train stations, major highways, the Menlo Park Mall, and Hackensack Meridian Health JFK University Medical Center.
Further west in Hunterdon County, Shein finalized the sale of a second-floor office condominium unit located at 4 Walter E. Foran Boulevard in Flemington.
The property was acquired by an expanding local orthodontist practice. This acquisition highlights an ongoing trend of health and wellness practitioners prioritizing regional medical-office buildings that offer ample parking, direct highway accessibility, and close proximity to core residential neighborhoods.
These two office-building trades arrive on the heels of several office tenant lease transactions completed by Shein in recent months, reinforcing his active presence across Northern and Central New Jersey’s suburban office, retail, and industrial submarkets. Over a commercial real estate career spanning more than 35 years, Shein has recorded office and industrial transactions exceeding millions of square feet and hundreds of acres of land.
