This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
A Boston-based investment firm acquired a Fort Point office building for $15M after the previous owner handed the property to its lender.
Tremont Asset Management, an affiliate of Slater Family Holdings, bought 268 Summer St. in an all-cash purchase from M&T Bank, according to public records. M&T had taken over the property from New York-based Aegean Capital LLC, the Boston Business Journal reported.
“The building can do a lot more and be a lot more than what we have today,” Slater Family Holdings Managing Partner Sam Slater told the BBJ.
Aegean had an outstanding balance of $28.4M, deed records show. The firm bought the 76K SF building in 2007 for $16.3M. The building is between 35% and 40% leased.
Slater Family Holdings owns several properties in Greater Boston, including 280 Summer St., just steps from its latest acquisition, where it maintains its own office.
SALES
William Marsh Holdings LLC bought a 31K SF single-story retail building at 280 Worcester Road in Framingham for $7.3M. The retail building is home to Club Pilates, Bosse Sports Training and Depaula Home Improvements. Engel & Volkers' Cindy Laughrea represented the buyer, and Freudenheim Partners' Leigh Freudenheim represented the seller, Bosse Framingham Turf LLC.
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J. Safra Group reached a deal to acquire the ground lease for the Faneuil Hall Marketplace from New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. for an undisclosed price. Ashkenazy acquired the ground lease for the property in 2011 for $140M. J. Safra manages over $300B in assets, and its real estate arm, J. Safra Real Estate, owns over 200 commercial, residential, retail and farmland properties globally.
LEASES
French skincare company Biologique Recherche plans to open its second U.S. location in May on Newbury Street, the Boston Business Journal reported. The company, which provides spa services and skincare products, signed on to open the location at 186 Newbury St., a former Intermix clothing store.
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Coworking operator Venture X signed an 11-year, 15K SF lease at 100 Front St. in Worcester. The space will include meeting rooms, 24/7 access, a café and a lounge. The space is in the 624K SF mixed-use Mercantile Center, managed by Franklin Realty Advisors.
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Fashion brand H&M plans to open a new 16K SF location at Simon Property Group's Burlington Mall on Feb. 8. The new location will be the brand's ninth in the state. Last summer, the mall owner added two other new tenants, Aritzia and The North Face, which took up space in the former Sears, the Boston Business Journal reported.
FINANCING
Portman Industrial secured a three-year, $29M loan to finance the first phase of its 1.1M SF industrial business park in Taunton. The project will redevelop the former Silver City Galleria shopping mall, which closed in 2020. The first phase will include a 248K SF industrial building with over 38 docks, 270 parking spaces and 29 trailer drops. JLL's Jody Thornton, Brett Paulsrud, Ryan Parker and Ari Bogen represented the borrower in the deal.
PERSONNEL
Ionic Development hired Briana Pinheiro as vice president. In her 15 years of experience, Pinheiro has led large-scale commercial real estate projects in Greater Boston. Before joining Iconic, she worked as the life sciences market lead for Scalora Consulting Group and CSL Consulting for six years and as a building construction projects account manager at Johnson Controls for four years, according to her LinkedIn page.
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Senior living developer 2Life Communities has promoted Zoe Weinrobe to chief of real estate after joining the firm seven years ago. In her previous role as director of real estate, Weinrobe helped in the creation of almost 400 affordable apartments and oversaw the renovation of the firm's Golda Meir and Coleman houses in Newton.
In her new role, Weinrobe will continue to lead the firm's real estate development, including its middle-income housing project Opus Newton in Newton and Brook House at Olmsted Village in Mattapan. Before joining 2Life, Weinrobe worked as vice president at Recap Real Estate Advisors, senior project manager at Urban Edge CDC and senior planner at the Cambridge Housing Authority.
