The Deal Story - Firestone (Haledon, NJ)

I recently had the opportunity to acquire a Firestone Complete Auto Care asset located in Haledon, NJ from a group of private investors based on the east coast.

Located just north of Paterson, the asset is situated on the highly trafficked Haledon Avenue and is surrounded by single-family homes, schools, and universities, with William Paterson University just half a mile down the road. In addition, the trade area includes several national tenants including Walgreens, Popeyes, and Rite Aid. 

The sellers had no interest in formally marketing the asset but were open to a sale given they found a qualified buyer with the right price and ability to handle the entire process for them. With their economic goals and motivation in mind, we tailored a process from initial offer to close that fit their specific needs, executing it efficiently and with full transparency.

Despite the overall market fundamentals, this property had a series of risks that demanded our attention. Given the extremely short-term nature of the lease, we had to establish multiple clear paths for re-tenanting the space. Our expansive network of tenant relationships allowed us to get comfortable with this risk. Furthermore, time was of the essence with this acquisition – not just due to the fact that the lease had less than one year remaining, but also due to the expedited closing timeline required by the sellers. Despite these risk factors, we were comfortable moving forward given our ability to mitigate the downside potential of the asset. 

Throughout the entire process, my team and I maintained clear and constant dialogue with the seller and their representatives. We were able to move swiftly from LOI to contract, and through a fast-tracked due diligence process. We made it our mission to meet the sellers’ goals with as few hiccups as possible.

In the end, this transaction achieved the goals for all parties involved as our client achieved an expedited exit out of a risky asset while we were able to add a strategic property to our portfolio with strong upside potential. We look forward to more investment opportunities in the Tri-State area across all asset types.