Verona, NJ

In 2002, Roseland was designated by the Essex County Improvement Authority as the redeveloper of the “Hilltop Preserve,” an approximately 400-acre site intersecting the towns of Verona, Caldwell, North Caldwell and Cedar Grove, which included the historic Essex County jail.

Roseland sold the development rights for Caldwell, North Caldwell and Cedar Grove to K Hovnanian for for-sale housing while retaining the redevelopment rights for the land in Verona. The payments from this agreement with K Hovnanian allowed Roseland to minimize its land basis for the Verona parcels.

Although originally zoned for single-family residential, Roseland worked with the Township of Verona to change the zoning overlay to allow for multifamily rental housing. The initial approval was for 95 apartments, which were completed in 2009. Recognizing the success of the initial phase of multifamily construction, the township gave Roseland the right to construct an additional 130 apartments. The second phase was completed in July 2013.

Following completion of the entire entitlement package, as well as the sale condominium, townhome and single-family lots, Roseland’s basis was reduced to $13,000 per apartment unit.

Both phases of Hilltop benefited from a Payment in Lieu of Tax Agreement; the Township then set a new precedent for revenue-sharing with its school district by contributing a portion of the revenues collected based on a per-child audit.

In the fall of 2014, Roseland secured a 20-year fixed-rate non-recourse permanent loan to repay its entire basis in the property. The property, located in a prestigious region of northern Essex County including valuable rental markets like Livingston and Montclair, is consistently over 97% occupied and today boasts some of the highest monthly rents in its submarket.