This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
Shire’s 202k SF lease at Two Ledgemont Center in Lexington, next to its 650k SF of labs and offices in Lexington Technology Park, solidifies the biopharma company’s relo of its US HQ from the Philadelphia to the Boston area.
The move brings Shire marketing and sales people closer to its researchers and scientists in the Boston-Cambridge life science corridor. As pharma companies focus less on big blockbuster drugs and more on the smaller markets for genetic or personalized therapies, you'll see more collaboration between the business and science sides, says Jason Therberge, a project executive for Commodore Builders, which has long worked with Shire. Hear more from Jason, who will be a panelist at Bisnow’s Boston Life Science’s event, Feb. 10 at 7:30am at the Royal Sonesta. Register here.
Shire expects to move 500 people from Philly, bringing its Lexington headcount to 2,000 in nearly 900k SF, forming one of the largest suburban office parks in the region. Transwestern | RBJ’s Robert Richards and Brian Cohen repped Shire in the lease for the entire five-floor building at 95 Hayden Ave. Wyman Street Advisors’ Chip Batchelder repped the owner of Two Ledgemont, an affiliate of Hobbs Brook Management. In November, Shire announced plans to establish Lexington as the company’s US operational HQ.
LEASING
Energi, a Peabody-based insurance firm that hopes to capture 10% of the market serving US energy companies, is expanding its HQ at 10 Centennial Dr from 40k SF to 62k SF. CEO Brian McCarthy hopes to double the size of the Peabody staff from 120 to 270 in coming years.
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In 2015, Campanelli has already signed two tenants at Heritage Two in North Quincy for a total of nearly 16k SF: Yasso, a frozen yogurt company and Stran Promotional Solutions, both relos from Boston.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
The old 198k SF Spaulding Rehabilitation Center at 125 Nashua St is being renovated into office and analytical research space for Mass General Hospital. The hospital, which has its campus nearby, expects to move in this spring. The building won’t be used for patient care, says Dr Jean Erlick, SVP of administration for MGH.
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Jenike & Johanson, whose engineers help clients with the storage, processing and transfer of granular solids, is expanding by 75% with the 11k SF it has added to its HQ at 400 Business Park Dr in Tyngsboro. Senate Construction managed the project.
SALE
David Lennox paid $875k to Medical Device Consultants for the 12k SF, three-story office building at 49 Plain St in North Attleboro. Greater Boston Commercial Properties’ Bret O’Brien repped the buyer.
PEOPLE
Skanska USA promoted Bryan Northrop to SVP - account manager for the Boston office. For 17 years, he’s managed major jobs for Skanska like the Novartis expansion in Cambridge and several projects at Harvard Law School. Bryan began at Skanska in ’96 as a co-op while he was a student at Wentworth Institute of Technology .
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John Rattigan has succeeded Elliot Surkin as DLA Piper managing partner for the Boston office. John has been counsel to banks, developers and investors for the acquisition, development, sale and leasing of large projects including Fan Pier and Millennium Tower.
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Morgan Lewis appointed Sula R. Fiszman and Joanne D.C. Foley as co-managing partners of the law firm’s Boston office. Sula advises financial institutions, private equity funds and other companies on complex senior secured finance transactions, lending, workouts and bankruptcies. Joanne counsels institutional investment funds, investment advisers, individual investors, real estate operators, REITs and other private equity investor clients on forming JVs and other partnership arrangements and the acquisition, disposition, merger, financing and development of real estate and other asset classes.
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The Greater Boston Real Estate Board’s new 2015 officers are Richard Beal, Perry Brokerage, chair; Kristin Blount, Colliers, chair-elect; Richard Henken The Schochet Cos, treasurer and Michael DiMella, Charlesgate Realty, clerk/assistant treasurer.
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Hobbs Brook Management named Bradley Cardoso as project manager and principal architect to replace 17-year Hobbs veteran Gerard LeBlancas when he retires in June.
HONORS
CBT Architects received the 2015 American Institute of Architects’ Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design for its work on developer HYM’s 3M SF Government Center Garage. The project is designed to transform the relic of a ‘60s urban renewal effort that separates six neighborhoods into a transit oriented, mixed-use development.
