200 Franklin Square, the vacant, 200,000-square-foot former North American headquarters for Philips Electronics, has been sold in Franklin Township. JLL Capital Markets announced Monday that it completed the sale, representing the seller and procuring the buyer, Axria, Inc.
The four-story, headquarters-quality building was recently renovated in 2016 but is currently 100% vacant, presenting a blank canvas for the new owner. The 12.19-acre site is strategically located with direct access to Interstate 287 and is close to major highways, including the New Jersey Turnpike and I-78.
Zoning allows for broad redevelopment
A key element of the sale is the property’s flexible zoning, which permits a broad range of commercial uses, including office, medical, educational, and light industrial. This flexibility is expected to fuel a significant redevelopment project.
Chandra Mandalapu, CEO of Axria, confirmed the firm’s intent to aggressively reposition the property.
“We intend to redevelop this property to its highest and best-use, creating significant value for the market,” Mandalapu said.
Adi Mokkapati, principal at Axria, added that the investment “presents a unique redevelopment opportunity to reposition an underutilized office building in a highly sought-after New Jersey submarket with limited available land.”
Capitalizing on a tight market
The sale comes amid a local trend where over one million square feet of office space has been converted to industrial use, tightening the supply of quality office space.
“This opportunity was unique as a former headquarters, but also a blank canvas with numerous possibilities for future use,” Jose Cruz, senior managing director at JLL Capital Markets said.
Jeremy Neuer, senior managing director at JLL, highlighted the competitive nature of the sale, noting that the “quality of the asset attracted a wide range of investors in what has become a tight market in the last few years.” The sale team also included Senior Director Ryan Robertson and Managing Directors Nicholas Stefans and Jason Lundy.
