On August 29 the firm of Simone Realty Inc., based in Lawrenceville, successfully closed the sale of the former Mercer Hospital located on Bellevue Avenue in Trenton to GLE Enterprises, LLC. The 200 plus-room hospital, part of a 600,000-square-foot campus, had been owned and operated by Capital Health Systems for decades but was no longer part of its operating plan due to the construction and opening of its new, state-of-the-art facility on Scotch Road in Hopewell. The land for the new Capital Health Systems hospital was also brokered by Simone Realty back in 2007.
John Simone Jr., Robert D. Loverro, and John R. Comp of Simone Realty were the commercial brokers who handled the transaction for the purchaser, GLE. The team, with a century of collective real estate brokerage experience, found this transaction as complex as they come.
“The deed restrictions that were put in place by Capital Health Systems, the competition with two brand new, state-of-the-art regional hospitals within five miles of the older campus, as well as the absence of any true medical feeder buildings in the near vicinity, created an opportunity that had to be keenly understood and evaluated,” says broker/owner John Simone Jr.
Fortunately, GLE was well aware of the challenges. “We believed early on that our client’s vision for a wellness center in Trenton would work quite well alongside two great new hospitals. In fact, the ongoing need that remains in Trenton should allow it to thrive,” added Robert D. Loverro.
The owners and brokers at Simone Realty are well aware that the project needs to be leased briskly, and this may require novel ways to reach new tenants that may or may not be in the market yet.
“No medical user, tenant or company is to be overlooked in attempting to fulfill the owner’s vision of a campus dedicated to the needs of the residents of Trenton. We expect to leverage the power of the commercial brokerage industry, the strong network that exists among the medical profession’s practitioners, as well the dedication of Mercer County elected officials and the governor’s office to assist us. Truly, this is an important project for the city of Trenton,” stated John R. Comp.
The project is off to a healthy start with several new tenants already executing letters of intent for portions of the buildings. On Tuesday, October 15, GLE will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility.
There's been a noticeable spike in commercial real estate business starting last fall, a trend that's continued into 2011 at Simone Realty.
And while most of Simone Realty's properties are completely full, there's a new 17,000 square foot building on Federal City Road with 5,000 square feet of sub-dividable space left. Simone can offer space as small as 1,700 square feet.
"This is a location with wide appeal," said owner John Simone. "It's right off I-95, close to the new Capital Health hospital complex, and there's plenty of free parking. The location is convenient to all parts of Mercer and Bucks counties. The two other buildings on the campus are completely leased with my offices, physicians' offices, and a sleep center."
Simone Realty also is seeking approval for an upscale detoxification facility at the site. Based on research conducted, Simone believes it is beneficial to the community and that the area is in dire need of this limited detox care.
"For medical patients who will receive detox services here, the program has an average stay of 5.8 days and targets private pay clients," Simone explained. "It's an initial drug and alcohol detox; clients are then referred to a full rehabilitation facility."
Managed by Sunrise Detox Centers, the program does not take clients with psychiatric issues, referrals from the criminal court system, or walk-ins. The property already is zoned for such use, but Simone is working with the community and the municipality to bring understanding about this important venture.
"People with addictions have been deemed handicapped under the Americans with Disabilities Act," Simone noted. "The patients who need this care are our family members, neighbors, co-workers and friends who otherwise would have to go out of state to get the help they need."
Simone Realty has a long history in providing medical office space in New Jersey. Its already fully rented properties comprise general medical practices, orthopaedic physicians, psychologists, spine and sports medicine, dentists, and other medical professionals. The company's mission is to offer maximum value possible by building the best organization and practicing the most efficient and effective processes conceivable. The fastest growing segment of Simone Realty's business is medical professionals, doctors, lawyers, and accountants, busy professionals who need someone to guide and manage their real estate endeavors so they can cater to their own clients.
Simone Realty is hands-on, and provides advisory services and project management solutions that are not readily available in other sectors of the commercial real estate market. For more information, call 609-882-1105 or visit them on the Web at www.simonerealty.com or jsimone@simonerealty.com
Simone Realty, Inc. 100 Federal City Road, C-101, Lawrenceville. 609-882-1105. Fax 609-530-1037. www.simonereality.com
Helping physicians and other healthcare professionals find suitable office space is the mission of Simone Realty, Inc., located at 100 Federal City Road in Lawrenceville.
“There are not a lot of office buildings strictly for medical purposes,” explains COO John Mastrosimone. “There is a need for new medical office buildings. There are buildings with doctors in them, and buildings just for doctors. When the building is exclusively for doctors, they do well with referrals from other physicians because they are together in the building. It’s a kind of synergy.
“We are also in a good area, near a lot of hospitals; Robert Wood Johnson, St. Francis, Princeton Medical Center, and Capital Health System. We are focused in central New Jersey, but we also cover the entire state as well as part of Pennsylvania. We expect to expand our coverage as the need continues to grow,”
Adds President John Simone — and Mr. Mastrosimone’s father: “These are satellite offices. The hospitals will often rent them for their physicians. The hospital is the tenant, and puts the doctors in the office.”
“We have always been focused on commercial real estate,” he continues. “My father was a developer and also owned businesses. In time, we started to emphasize healthcare development, especially for the past eight years. We began to see a trend identifying a real need for healthcare offices. And we have established a good reputation with physicians.”
Indeed, the Simone name has had a strong family history in real estate over the years — actually, in more ways than one. When the first Mr. Mastrosimone (the current Mr. Mastrosimone’s great-grandfather) came from Italy to Ellis Island, there was a misunderstanding about his name. The officials registered it as “Mr. Simone”. Now, John Mastrosimone serves as COO, and his father, John Simone, is President of the company.
Simone Realty buys, develops, and rents properties, also buys and renovates existing buildings, and provides project management. With its in-depth knowledge of the healthcare industry, it is seeking to identify the most advantageous locations for doctors’ offices, depending on the area’s need for for specialists, population and patient profiling, and medical insurance coverage.
Healthcare is a huge issue, of course. Whether it’s insurance or need for more doctors or the latest breakthrough, it’s in the news daily. And healthcare will remain a growing concern as the population ages.
“The demand for medical services is continually increasing, and it is expected that with the onset of Baby Boomers moving into the 55-year-old-plus age group, the continued demands on the medical services market place will require great selectivity of where those services are performed,” says Mr. Mastrosimone. “Instead of just selecting real estate with a slant towards location only, Simone Realty has raised the bar by focusing concurrent attention on the medical requirements within a business-driven approach. Each medical practice is unique, and Simone Realty works with physician and healthcare organizations to better understand those intricacies and offer supportive solutions.
“Site selection for healthcare, as a developer or user, is a strategic process that borrows fundamentals from the retail sector, and must consider not only the goals and objectives of the client practice but also be able to understand its target market and the competitive landscape,” he continues.
“Simone Realty is working diligently to capitalize on the failure today of private developers who have done a poor job keeping pace with the local and regional hospitals in providing appropriate facilities that support today’s service delivery practices.
“Also,” he points out, “Simone Realty’s focus on enhancing physicians profitability should not be underestimated. We are able to recruit specific medical practices to winning locations and position them for growth. Matching medical services with current and projected patient needs creates a strong on-site referral network between healthcare professionals and significantly enhances practice profitability.”
“We really recognize the needs of physicians,” points out Mr. Simone. “We give them a lot for their money, including an infrastructure. Offices, labs, etc. Once the building is in place, then we customize the space for the physicians’ special needs — X-rays, examination tables, technological testing equipment, etc. Our buildings have good parking and also emergency access for ambulances.”
With the consensus that there will be greater need for healthcare services in general in the future, Mr. Mastrosimone is energized about his role in this challenging field. “I enjoy the constant change. No two transactions are alike. You can have two identical buildings on two different properties, and one works and one doesn’t. It’s a constant puzzle. There are a lot of lessons to be learned and a lot of moving parts in development: dealing with the professional layer of government, the residents, etc. The challenge is to get everything to move together smoothly. There are a lot of complexities.”
“We meet so many people,” adds his father. “It’s such a cross-section — professionals, architects, builders, tradespeople, and the tenants. I enjoy the stimulation.”
They are both encouraged that the company has new projects on the horizon, and that they are also offering a new opportunity for doctors to enter into a partnership and buy equity in the building. “Then, the physicians can share in the profits,” points out Mr. Mastrosimone. “I think we’re a unique company. We really add value by advising on site locations, and I am always encouraged by the fact that we are a family business. We are moving forward as a team. We can see something that we have achieved. And now, we want to be leaders in the healthcare environment.”
Simone Realty can be reached at (609) 882-1105. Website: www.simonerealty.com.
