This Week's Boston Deal Sheet: WeWork Stays At One Lincoln But Shrinks Space
WeWork has decided to keep the Boston office location that was once its largest, but it has reduced its footprint dramatically.
The coworking operator signed a lease under a revenue-sharing agreement to occupy three floors at the 36-story One Lincoln tower in the Financial District, it said in a press release Monday.
The firm had previously occupied 241K SF across nine floors in the building, the Boston Business Journal reported.
The new lease structure means WeWork's base rent will rely on the revenue it gets from tenants rather than a fixed monthly cost.
“We’re excited to renew our commitment to One Lincoln, a flagship office building in Boston and a fixture in our local portfolio,” Kate Harper, vice president of real estate at WeWork, said in a statement.
The lease was the last in its Boston portfolio that remained unresolved from its bankruptcy proceedings that ended in June, and it had previously moved to reject the lease before reaching an agreement.
Its postbankruptcy portfolio also includes 33 Arch St. and One Beacon St. downtown, 501 Boylston St. in Back Bay, 200 Portland St. in Bulfinch Triangle, One Seaport Square in the Seaport District, and 625 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge.
Fortis Property Group owns the One Lincoln office building, and Synergy has been working as its property manager. The firm has been trying to attract new occupants through a $200M renovation that it launched after securing HarbourVest as its anchor tenant.
SALES
Chicago-based Waterton acquired a 326-unit apartment complex in Saugus for $156M, according to public records. The apartment community consists of 25 three-story buildings and a clubhouse. The complex, known as The Residences at Stevens Pond, was built in 2003.
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New York-based Osso Capital acquired a loft-style apartment community in Lawrence for $122M, Banker & Tradesman reported. The firm bought the properties at 240, 242 and 270 Canal St. from Berkeley Investments. Berkeley bought the property in 2021 for $98.5M as part of a five-building portfolio.
LEASES
Cummings Properties secured three leases for its Cummings Center in Beverly. The new tenants — AllaraMedical Group, Anchor Home Medical & Pharmacy and MD Esthetics — signed a combined 9K SF at 100 and 900 Cummings Center. Cummings Properties said the diverse medical cluster already at the 2M SF campus was the main attraction for the three companies.
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Healthcare tech company Veeva Systems agreed to extend and double its footprint at Rockpoint Group's 100 Summer St. property in the Financial District, the Boston Business Journal reported. The firm signed a 52K SF lease across two floors at the property. Veeva doesn't have a return-to-office mandate and has embraced a work-from-anywhere policy. The Steele Group represented the tenant.
FINANCING
MassDevelopment issued a $2.8M bond on behalf of The Baseball Inc. The sports nonprofit will use the funds in part to acquire a building at 150 Shirley St. in Roxbury, which it previously leased for its programs. Eastern Bank purchased the bond.
PERSONNEL
The Boston Society for Architecture appointed Danyson Tavares its executive director, effective Monday. Tavares previously held the role of executive director for YouthBuild Boston. Before that, he worked for nine years at local architecture firms. Tavares is also on the board of trustees for the architecture firm Sasaki.
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JLL appointed Corey Gustafson executive managing director of the firm's value and risk advisory platform. In this role, Gustafson will oversee the national office, retail, industrial and multifamily property sectors. He will be based in Boston. Gustafson has 22 years of experience, most recently serving as managing director and New England market leader of CBRE's valuation and advisory services team.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Copper Mill proposed an office-to-residential conversion for a 43K SF office building near TD Garden, the BBJ reported. The firm wants to create 57 apartments at 123 N. Washington St. through the city's conversion tax break program. The property is more than 25% occupied, with the last two leases set to expire within the next 18 months. Copper Mill estimates the cost of the conversion will be $29M, with rents going for $3K to $4K a month.
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Simon Property Group completed its multimillion-dollar transformation of the Burlington Mall. The 130K SF redevelopment added new retailers including Uniqlo, Lululemon, Vineyard Vines and Aritzia. The REIT added The Park at Burlington Mall, an outdoor community space, and The Village at Burlington Mall, a standalone lifestyle center adjacent to the complex.
