Buyer for UMCP Building is Announced

The University Medical Center at Princeton has a buyer. Princeton Healthcare System has announced an agreement with AvalonBay Communities, Inc. to purchase the hospital building on Witherspoon Street and nine houses owned by PHCS on Harris Road.

Because the transaction has not closed, the health care organization declined to reveal how much AvalonBay will pay for the properties. PHCS is building a replacement hospital on Route 1 in Plainsboro that is scheduled to open in 2012. According to its website, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. is a NYSE-listed real estate investment trust that develops, redevelops, acquires and manages “high-quality apartment communities in the high barrier-to-entry markets of the United States.” The company has properties in 10 states across the country and the District of Columbia. Thirteen of its communities are in New Jersey.

The hospital property was originally to be sold for $55 million to the Philadelphia-based real estate investment firm Lubert-Adler. But in May 2010, that firm backed out of the deal, citing the recession as a reason. Those plans would have utilized the mixed-use residential, retail and office rezoning of the 5.6-acre tract of land, and would have accomodated 280 residential units, with retail at street level.

Details on AvalonBay’s plans for the site were not available at press time. The company’s communities are located near centers of employment, shopping, transportation, arts and entertainment, according to its website. A fuller account will appear in next week’s issue. “We are deeply committed to the Princeton community and wanted to find a buyer that has a strong track record of being an excellent community partner,” said Barry S. Rabner, President and CEO of PHCS in a statement.

Mr. Rabner was on vacation and unavailable for comment at presstime.

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