This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
Tishman Speyer and Mitsui Fudosan America Inc. acquired a 60-acre site they intend to redevelop into a bigger industrial park.
The site, at 8 Centennial Drive in Peabody, consists of 515K SF of office and manufacturing space that served as the headquarters of medical supplier Analogic, the seller, for the past 40 years. The joint venture acquired the site for $77M on Friday, according to public records, and plans to redevelop it into four warehouse buildings totaling 700K SF.
“8 Centennial is the ideal next step for our growing industrial platform,” Tishman Speyer Managing Director and Head of Industrial Andy Burke said. “Our team will leverage our extensive development expertise and local relationships to deliver much needed Class A space to the market.”
The proposed industrial park would consist of buildings ranging from 130K SF to 260K SF, 700 parking spaces and 90 trailer storage stalls. The site was attractive to the partnership because of its highway access and location 20 miles from Boston.
This is the third acquisition the joint venture has made. At the beginning of the year, the partnership acquired a 32-acre development site for $150M in Irvine, California, with plans to develop another four-building industrial park.
LEASES
Persimmon Technologies signed a 142K SF lease at 35 Crosby Drive in Bedford. The robotics company, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, will relocate its headquarters from 178 Albion St. in Wakefield, Commercial Property Executive reported. The tenant joins Hologic Inc. at the 207K SF facility. Newmark's Richard Ruggiero, Torin Taylor, Matthew Adams and Rory Walsh facilitated the transaction on behalf of the landlord, W. P. Carey.
***
The First Electronics Corp. signed a lease at Hilco Redevelopment Partners' 157K SF 400 Wood Road in Braintree. HRP acquired the site in August 2019 and redeveloped it. Integra LifeSciences signed a 100K SF lease at the site in 2022, the Boston Real Estate Times reported. The new lease brings the building to full occupancy.
FINANCING
KeyBank Real Estate Capital secured $24M in financing for The Dolben Co.'s 240-unit Pine Brook Place in Haverhill. The company received the fixed-rate loan from Freddie Mac. The apartment community consists of 10 three-story apartment buildings that have a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. KBREC's Dirk Falardeau and Matthew Purtell structured the financing.
PERSONNEL
The Massachusetts Port Authority board picked Richard Davey as CEO of the quasi-public company. If Davey takes the job, he would replace Lisa Wieland, former Massport CEO, The Boston Globe reported. Davey is president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City.
Davey would be coming back to the city where he started his career nearly two decades ago. He acted as general manager of the MBTA in 2010. Massport has conducted several public-private partnerships with the development community, most recently being a part of the first affordable housing project in the Seaport. The company has also made major moves in addressing diversity in the sector with its Massport Model.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
WS Development opened its 635K SF 400 Summer St. lab development. The 16-story development is anchored by Foundation Medicine, a subsidiary of Swiss company Roche Pharmaceuticals that leased 580K SF in 2019. The building was developed in partnership with PSP Investments and KKR.
The development is the first air rights project in the city since the Copley Place development in the 1980s. Foundation Medicine's lease is a consolidation that will bring together 1,100 workers from across four locations in Boston and Cambridge.
***
An entity linked to Sing Ming Chan filed a proposal for a 71-unit apartment building at 49-51 D St. in South Boston, Banker & Tradesman reported. The 74K SF building would include 1,500 SF of ground-floor retail space and a 1,300 SF pocket park. The nine-story apartment building would have a unit mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units, with 12 units set aside as income-restricted.
***
Northeastern University proposed tearing down its 114-year-old Matthews Arena to build a new 290K SF athletic facility, the Boston Business Journal reported. The arena would include a fieldhouse with multipurpose turf, basketball courts and recreational courts, according to its letter of intent. Matthews Arena was home to the Celtics and Bruins before Northeastern took over ownership of the building in 1979.
