This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
One of the largest biotech companies in the state has renewed its lease in Kendall Square.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals signed a 10-year lease extension for the 223K SF that it occupies at Alexandria Real Estate Equities' 75/125 Binney St. in Kendall Square, the landlord announced Monday. The lease didn't end until 2030 but is now extended until 2040.
Takeda has a large presence in the Kendall Square market, occupying buildings at 500 Kendall St. and 650 E. Kendall St. and planning to occupy BioMed's under-construction 585 Third St. The firm also has another address at 95 Hayden Ave. in Lexington.
It took on the lease at Alexandria's property in 2017 after acquiring Ariad Pharmaceuticals. Takeda expanded in 2018 after it bought out biotech company Shire, which led to the move of 1,000 employees from Deerfield into Cambridge and Lexington, Fierce Pharma reported.
Alexandria completed the 388K SF development, which is part of the 2.8M SF Alexandria Center at Kendall Square campus, in 2015. It later sold a 60% stake in 2019 to an institutional investor for $438M, according to Monday's release.
SALES
Ashford Hospitality Trust signed an agreement to sell the 390-room Hilton Boston Back Bay hotel for $171M to an undisclosed buyer, it announced Thursday. The deal is part of the REIT's strategy to sell 12 hotels and refinance its loans to pay off its $2.6B in debt due at the beginning of 2026. The sale is expected to close this month.
LEASES
Sage Therapeutics plans to relocate and downsize its headquarters into 40K SF at 55 Cambridge Parkway in Cambridge. The biotech firm will leave behind over 103K SF at 215 and 245 First St. when its lease ends this summer, Banker & Tradesman reported. The firm will pay $2.7M per year in the 66-month lease.
FINANCING
MassHousing and the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. announced plans to launch the Equitable Developers Fund with $50M in public funding to finance developers from "socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds and communities."
It plans to raise an additional $25M from private investors, and MHIC plans to make at least $10M in loans available for project-level, redevelopment, acquisition and construction financing through the fund. The fund will help to address disparities that minority developers face when accessing capital used to acquire development sites and begin projects. Applications are expected to open in the spring.
PERSONNEL
Hughes Marino hired Brian Dolan as vice president of the company's Boston office. Dolan has held roles at Lincoln Property Co. and The Steele Group. In his new role, Dolan will hone in on his experience with different commercial tenants in tough tech, technology and professional services.
***
The Corcoran Group plans to expand into Massachusetts with the launch of Corcoran Property Advisors, led by Brian Dougherty and Nick Robert. The group will open a flagship office on Newbury Street in Boston and a second office in Cohasset.
Dougherty has overseen more than $500M in real estate transactions over his career, holding positions as managing director at Compass and managing partner at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Robert partnered with Dougherty in 2019 after joining Compass as executive director.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Cruz Cos. held a ribbon-cutting on Thursday for its Michael E. Haynes Arms building, an 85K SF mixed-use building that includes 55 units. The project is over 80% affordable. The ground floor of the project will be the new headquarters of the Cruz Cos., which will house all of its development, construction, management and relocation entities.
***
West Boylston Investments LLC filed a proposal for a 115-unit development near Readville station in Hyde Park. The complex would include two buildings totaling 99K SF at 1690-1700 Hyde Park Ave., Banker & Tradesman reported. The project would also include 20 income-restricted units and up to 65 parking spots.
