The retirement age for receiving full benefits from Social Security is 67 years old. The First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey is just shy of that age and is ready to call it quits.
The Garden State REIT announced its plan to liquidate last week, Bisnow reported. The voluntary liquidation will unfold over a period of 24 months as the company looks to sell all of its assets.
“For almost seventy years, FREIT has delivered consistent and attractive returns for investors,” chief executive officer Robert Hekemian said in a statement. “We are proud of the company’s legacy and look forward to punctuating it by returning capital to stockholders in a favorable real estate environment.”
The capital return is expected to prove fruitful for stockholders. The stock’s closing price on the last day before the liquidation announcement was $15.25. After liabilities are taken care of, the company expects net proceeds from the asset sales to range between $24.44 and $30.03 per share.
Incorporated in 1961, FREIT’s portfolio spans more than a dozen properties today, most in New Jersey. Those include six multifamily complexes, five shopping centers and three vacant parcels. It also owns The Regency Club in Middletown, New York.
Stockholders will need to approve the liquidation plan at a meeting in the fall. JLL is serving as a financial advisor to FREIT during this process.
One of FREIT’s more memorable episodes began unfolding in January 2020, shortly after Kushner Companies agreed to pay FREIT $186 million for six apartment properties in northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley. Kushner put up a $15 million deposit. Then the pandemic arrived.
Kushner planned to inspect the units before the deal closed, but was unable to as New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency. When Kushner requested more time to look them over, FREIT considered the contract breached and canceled the deal, holding on to Kushner’s $15 million deposit in escrow.
Kushner finally reached a settlement with FREIT in 2024, agreeing to pay the New Jersey-based REIT $16.9 million.
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