JV Buys First In $200M Fund; The Deal Sheet
Urban Meritage, Novaya Real Estate Ventures, and L&B Realty Advisors closed Friday on the first $10M purchase of their new $200M fund, buying 79 Newbury St from YAS Real Estate, UM partner Vin Norton tells Bisnow.
Vin (with Nixon Peabody's Larry DiCara at a recent industry event) says the team bought the building empty but extensively renovated. The 7,200 SF, five-story ex-townhouse features smart building technology and high-end finishes like Brazilian cherry wood, mahogany, and marble for two lower levels of retail and three upper floors of offices. UMs last fund--a partnership with Taurus Investments--made a splash in 2011 with Jamestown's $226M buy of the JV's Back Bay portfolio. UM, Novaya, and L&B have another asset under agreement and hope to buy 8, 324, and 330Newbury Street, Vin says.
SALES
Mack-Cali closed on its $88M purchase of Altera at Overlook Ridge 1B, bringing to $149.3M its investment in the master planned Community spanning Revere and Malden. The seller of two buildings at Overlook Ridge with 722 apartments was a Prudential Insurance Co JV.
***
MathWorks agreed to pay $55M to Boston Scientific for its 500k SF building in Natick once construction is complete on the seller's new building in Marlborough. RW Holmes Realty repped the buyer, which develops technical computing software, and JLL repped the seller.
***
Mayhaw LLC paid $33.2M for 39 JFK St in Harvard Square from 39 JFK ST LLC. The 21k SF retail asset is 100% occupied with national tenants like American Express as well aslocals. Boston Realty Advisors repped the seller and found the buyer.
***
Albany Road Real Estate Partners closed on its $17.2M purchase of Braintree Executive Park, a 125k SF, two-building property from Dinosaur/Grossman.
***
Hines Global REIT closed on its $197M purchase of Riverside Center in Newton from Equity Office. The 510k SF, three-building complex was completed in 2000 and is 97% leased for the long term to tenants including pharmaceutical company McKesson. The REIT also owns 250 Royall in Canton and the Campus at Marlborough in the burb of the same name. REIT CEO Sherri Schugart likes the diverse economy and highly educated workforce in the metro market.
***
Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT bought a 93k SF, fully leased data center in Andover for $12M.
***
Big news for Cambridge developers: Monday, the city council approvednew zoning rules that nearly double the allowable height of buildings in Kendall Square and on the M.I.T. campus. At One Broadway, a site proposed for housing, apartment buildings can reach 300 feet. Elsewhere in Kendall Square, they can go up to 250 feet. M.I.T., which is planning 1M SF of offices, lab, retail, housing, and academic space, has actively supported the new zoning.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Education First recently held a topping out for its new $125M, 300k SF HQ in North Point, which straddles Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston. EFs new HQdesigned by Swedish starchitect Gert Wingrdhfeatures a geometric glazed waterfall that slices through the faade, a reference to the nearby Charles River. The for-profit Swedish education, language, and travel firmis expanding from its current 250k SF building nearby. On hand were EF chief administrative officer Martha Doyle, contractor Skanska USA EVP Paul Hewins, and Cambridge officials.
***
The Mirbeau Cos broke ground on the $21M Mirbeau Inn & Spaat The Pinehills in Plymouth. The Inn at 35 Landmark Dr--designed by Arrowstreet--resembles a French country manor house and includes a 14k SF spa, a fine dining restaurant, and wine bar/bistro.
***
Massachusetts Industrial LLC, through a REIT, secured $59M in financing to buy the Condyne Industrial Portfolio, five buildings with 1.5M SF located throughout the metro area. NorthMarqs James Murphy arranged the acquisition and mezz loans.
***
Southcoast Health System, a community healthcare provider that includes Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, St. Lukes Hospital in New Bedford, and Tobey Hospital in Wareham, secured $58M in tax-exempt bond financing from MassDevelopment. The proceeds will be used to build a 60k SF center for primary and specialty care in Fairhaven, to renovate the Atwood building at CharltonHospital, and install FFE and install upgrades to computer, electrical, and HVAC systems.
***
WinnDevelopment secured $18M in financing from MassHousing to buy the vacant former Worcester Vocational and Technical Schoolwhere it willdevelop 84 units of mixed-income housing. Construction will start this month on the 1910 structure thats listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Once completed in fall 14, it will be Voke Lofts, designed by The Architectural Team and built by Dellbrook Construction.
BUSINESS
Hasbro hired Jones Lang LaSalle tomanage its new US sales and marketing HQ at One Hasbro Place in downtown Providence. The six-story, 136k SF office property recently received extensive capital improvements. The building--owned by Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust--was redeveloped with state-of-the-art presentation rooms on the first floor, an employee cafeteria, fitness center, and underground parking for 50 vehicles. The architect is Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype.
Spring break is approaching. Go anywhere fun? We'd love to share some photos in an upcoming issue:susan@bisnow.com.
