This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
In one of the largest and fastest lease deals in the hot Cambridge life science market, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has taken all of the office/lab building at 675 West Kendall in Kendall Square—295k SF—as Cambridge asking rents hit record levels, Transwestern | RBJ’s managing partner and northeast market leader Steve Purpura tells Bisnow.
The deal took less than three months to negotiate, Steve says. One reason: Alnylam was eager to lock in space at a time when demand for East Cambridge is so intense that the average asking rent has hit $69.64/SF—a 16.3% jump over the past year. Alnylam is developing a new class of innovative medicines focused on RNAi therapeutics. Given the location’s proximity to other life science companies, MIT, Harvard and a cluster of globally elite hospitals, Cambridge’s overall office vacancy rate is 6.8%. Alnylam is joining several other life science tenants signing deals.
Since January, its landlord, BioMed, has leased about 500k SF in East Cambridge, including major deals with Biogen, Reed Elsevier and Akamai Technologies. Alnylam will move in 2018 when the current tenant, Vertex, vacates as its center of gravity shifts to Boston’s Seaport District. On the 675 West Kendall amenity list: super restaurants, kayak/canoe rentals, ice skating, outdoor concerts and a farmers market.
Leases
For the return of many of its employees to Cambridge from the ‘burbs, Biogen signed a 10-year lease on 80k SF of office/lab space at 301 Binney St near its new HQ with landlord BioMed, whose 417k SF building is now 100% leased. Transwestern | RBJ’s Steve Purpura and Eric Smith repped BioMed; DTZ repped Biogen, which develops therapies for neurological, autoimmune and hematologic disorders.
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At 10 and 55 Technology Dr in Lowell, two lab/office buildings, leases were signed by Borrego Solar (approximately 13k SF), Lowell 5 (21k SF) and Evoqua Water Technologies extending its nearly 58k SF. JLL repped landlord Novaya Real Estate Ventures.
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In a relo from Millford, Ipsen, a French drug developer, leased space for a new research facility on the second floor of 650 East Kendall St, one of three global R&D centers for the 4,500-employee company that was founded in 1929 by Henri Beaufour. At the same time, Ipsen has announced a multi-year research alliance agreement with Harvard University to collaborate on work such as neuroendocrine tumors and neuromuscular disorders.
Construction & Development
Boston College completed the redevelopment of its second oldest building—St. Mary’s Hall—with Shawmut Design and Construction. The team did a two-year, 115k SF interior and exterior renovation using historic preservation and BIM expertise to ensure a seamless, efficient process. They simultaneously removed and replaced over 15,000 cast stone elements, installed 300 new windows, new Ludiwici tile roofing, and renewed all of the pointing. Also on the team: DiMella Shaffer and McGinley Kalsow Associates.
Core Investments plans to build six streets of housing, retail and park area on five acres of former light industrial space in South Boston’s Andrew Square neighborhood, David Pogorelc says. The project includes 700 residences, 76k SF of retail, parking for 580 cars, 1.4 acres of public open space for warm weather outdoor events and winter ice skating.
Sales
The $46.1M sale of The Shoppes at Bedford Mall, a 277k SF grocery-anchored retail center in Bedford, NH, that was recently redeveloped has closed. An HFF team led by James Koury repped the seller, Emmes Asset Management, and secured financing for the buyer, a Colorado-based investor.
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An affiliate of Charleston, SC-based apartment management company Greystar paid $43M to Jefferson at Admirals Hill for the 161-unit Jefferson at Admirals Hill apartment complex in Chelsea. CBRE New England’s Simon Butler and Biria St. John repped the seller and found the buyer.
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NorthBridge CRE Advisors and a local investor group acquired 30 Burlington Mall Rd in Burlington for nearly $4.2M, a 7.8% initial cap rate. The 12k SF property is adjacent to the Leahy Clinic and near several million square feet of offices. The property is 100% leased on a long-term lease to Knowledge Universe Education, an early childcare provider.
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Arak II paid Yorkshire Realty Trust $4.2M for 75 Bolton St Ext in Marlborough, a nearly 14k SF retail building. Parsons Commercial Group’s Victor Galvani repped the buyer and seller.
By the Numbers
Boston Properties, the owner of the Hancock Tower, Pru and Bay Colony office park in Waltham, is cleaning up. Recent financial filings show that in 2014, Boston Properties generated record revenue and operating income. The REIT generated $2.4B in revenue, up 12% from a year earlier, and operating income of $801M, up from $678 M in ‘13. As a result, its stock price rose 37%, to about $138 a share.
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After a torrent of criticism for lax management and lots of unpaid rent last year, the BRA hand-sifted through 100,000 pages of leases on old-fashioned paper to learn that it has 108 leases for tenants. BRA Director Brian Golden says the authority will digitize all the info to streamline collection of payments. Listen up tenants…no more excuses that we never got the bill.
