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20 Nassau management confirms new building ownership in letter to tenants

The main entrance to 20 Nassau Street in downtown Princeton.

Management at the 20 Nassau Street building sent a letter to tenants on Friday confirming that the building has been sold.

According to the letter sent to tenants and obtained by Planet Princeton, the building was under new ownership as of Oct. 31. Tenants were advised to make checks payable to GPNJ Lessee LLC moving forward.

Representatives from the new ownership group were on site at the property to meet with tenants on Monday.

In public records obtained by Planet Princeton last week, the new owner contact was listed as Ben Weprin, the head of Graduate Hotels, a company that develops hotels with collegiate themes.

It is unclear what the timeline is for the building to be converted into a hotel. The building is located in a historic district. The project will likely require zoning changes and reviews by various local commissions and committees, including the Princeton Planning Board.

Some office tenants in the building are on month-to-month leases when their leases expire, while others have leases until late next year. Restaurants located on the Nassau Street portion of the property have multi-year leases.

More than 100 offices are located at 20 Nassau. As soon as the news broke that the building had been sold, commercial real estate agensts began knocking on doors in the building, offering to help people find new offices.

Many of the people who work out of the building provide mental health services and other professional services to the community. Students at Princeton University visit these professionals, and in some cases make up the vast majority of their clients. Some professionals say they will have to relocate their offices to areas outside of town where the rent is comprable to what they have been paying at 20 Nassau. Undergraduates who depend on these services would then have to arrange for transportation if they want to continue to see these professionals.