Reversal of fortune for Bergman RE.

Bergman Real Estate Group reports strong leasing activity at Woodbridge Towers, a four-story, 85,000 s/f office building located at 555 Route One South in Iselin, N.J.

On the heels of losing its' major tenant, representing 39% of the building, Bergman has completed nine transactions totaling 26,500 s/f.

"When our primary tenant, who had just extended their lease for five years, unexpectedly filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the building went from 95% occupancy to about half full," said Michael Bergman, Vice President and a Principal of the company.

"We certainly had our work cut out for us this year."

The four-story office building is located across from the Woodbridge Center Mall on U.S. Route 1 South, within close proximity to the Garden State Parkway (Exit 130), the New Jersey Turnpike (Exit 11), I-287, Routes 9, 27 and 440.

Stephen Snell, Director of Leasing for Bergman Real Estate Group's in-house leasing division, described the firm's successful releasing efforts through the first three quarters of 2003, "We have been very busy here at Woodbridge Towers over the past nine months, despite the current softness in the N.J. commercial office market. While we still have approximately 27,000 s/f remaining to be leased, including 18,000 s/f of contiguous space on the third floor, we put a big dent in the overall vacancy bringing the building to about 70% occupancy."

The following are some of the notable leases completed this year:

In the first transaction, General Services Administration has leased 3,974 s/ f for the Despatch Agency of the United States for a five year term.

Onyx Acceptance Corporation, an auto industry credit and finance company, leased 2,790 s/f. Onyx is a consumer finance company, providing purchase and service of motor vehicle retail installment contracts. Brokers Edward DaCosta and Robert Denney, of CB Richard Ellis, represented Onyx in this lease.

Envoy Technologies, a company that handles the connectivity needs of enterprise customers, leased 5,470 s/f. The broker on the transaction was Larry Dickstein, of Dickstein Real Estate.

Genex Corporation, a company that provides disability management and cost containing services, initially leased 1,428 s/f but is now expanding by 1,644 s/f. John Crock, of CB Richard Ellis, was the broker on this transaction on behalf of Genex.

Aetna Life Insurance renewed its lease for 4,100 s/f. Aetna is one of the nation's leading providers of health, dental, group life, disability and long-term care benefits.

Brand Engineers leased 2,900 s/f. Brand Engineers is an exclusive resource whose expertise is in developing highly differentiated pharmaceutical brand positioning. The transaction was brokered by Bryn Cinque and James Bailey, of GVA Williams.

In the most recent transaction, Kaye Insurance, represented by Larry Dickstein, of Dickstein Real Estate, leased 2,657 s/f on the first floor.