JLL Arranges $15.35M Life Insurance Company Refinancing for Bergman Real Estate Group's Princeton Office Building

JLL Capital Markets has arranged $15.35 million in financing for 500 College Road East, a four-story, 160,904-square-foot Class A office building in Princeton, New Jersey, on behalf of a borrower entity led by Bergman Real Estate Group, the firms announced July 29, 2026.

JLL secured the four-year, interest-only, fixed-rate loan through a life insurance company. The transaction comes after Bergman completed a significant repositioning of the asset and executed 22 new leases totaling approximately 113,000 square feet since acquiring the property in 2020.

Property Profile and Capital Improvement Program

500 College Road East was originally built in 1984 and renovated in 2022. The building sits on approximately 15 acres within Princeton Forrestal Center, a 2,200-acre master-planned business park that contains over eight million square feet of mixed-use space, including academic, research, office, residential, hotel, conference center, retail and open space uses. The property is located midway between Philadelphia and New York City.

Bergman invested approximately $4 million in a capital improvement program targeting the flight-to-quality demand profile that has characterized leasing activity in stronger suburban office markets. Upgrades included fully renovated common areas with updated finishes and LED lighting, a new full-service café and seating areas, an upgraded fitness center with showers, and an employee lounge with games. The program also added a multimedia conference and training facility, enhanced outdoor meeting areas, extensive landscaping, and a tenant bike share program that leverages the internal trail network within Princeton Forrestal Center.

Leasing Momentum Underpins Refinancing

The 22 new leases executed since Bergman's 2020 acquisition represent approximately 70 percent of the building's total rentable area, reflecting sustained tenant demand following the repositioning. JLL characterized the resulting tenant base as institutional and credit-oriented, with the building's flexible floor plates and efficient design supporting a diverse range of tenant sizes and uses.

"Bergman Real Estate Group has demonstrated exceptional execution since acquiring this asset in 2020," said Gregory Nalbandian of JLL. "The capital improvement program has successfully repositioned 500 College Road East as a competitive Class A offering, evidenced by the significant leasing momentum and the quality of the institutional and credit-oriented tenant base. The building's flexible floor plates and efficient design support a diverse range of tenant sizes and uses. This loan was particularly attractive as it offered open prepayment during the entire term without penalty should the sponsor elect to sell the asset to monetize their investment."

Loan Structure and Lender Selection

The $15.35 million loan carries a fixed interest rate and is structured as fully interest-only over its four-year term. A notable feature of the financing is open prepayment throughout the entire loan term with no penalty, preserving Bergman's flexibility to sell the asset before maturity if market conditions warrant.

Life insurance companies have remained selectively active in office lending, generally favoring well-located, well-leased assets with experienced sponsors over commodity properties. Princeton Forrestal Center benefits from its proximity to Princeton University and a concentration of corporate research, R&D and life sciences tenants.

JLL's Capital Markets Debt Advisory team on the transaction was led by Michael Klein, Gregory Nalbandian, Nazario Paragano and Kevin Badger.

Market Context: Quality Bifurcation in Suburban Office

The refinancing reflects broader dynamics playing out across the U.S. office market, where a pronounced performance gap has emerged between recently renovated, amenitized Class A buildings and older commodity stock. Newer or substantially upgraded properties with strong amenity packages have captured a disproportionate share of net absorption, while older Class B and C assets face increasing obsolescence pressures.

Suburban campus-style assets in knowledge-economy nodes — particularly those combining university adjacency, research uses and high-income residential catchments — have generally outperformed older central business district towers on leasing velocity. Bergman's capital improvement program was designed to align 500 College Road East with the lifestyle amenities, collaboration space and wellness features that knowledge-economy tenants increasingly prioritize.

Bergman Real Estate Group was founded in 1988 and currently owns and manages 18 office and retail properties encompassing over 2.25 million square feet, with a focus on New Jersey and select other markets. The company's platform includes acquisition, ownership, asset and property management, leasing and construction supervision.

JLL is a global commercial real estate services and investment management company with annual revenue of $26.1 billion and operations in over 80 countries. JLL's Capital Markets group includes more than 3,000 specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.