The Deal Sheet
In one of the largest deals of the year, HFF secured the $204M construction loan for The Fallon Co’s 516k SF One Northern Ave office building on Fan Pier, where Goodwin Proctor will anchor 380k SF. “We’ve never seen so many investors with so much capital,” HFF executive managing director John Fowler tells us. (The only question is, who springs for lunch?)
It’s always challenging to negotiate construction loans, John and managing director Anthony Cutone tell us. It helps when you have a solid sponsor (The Fallon Company and MassMutual, advised by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers) and a gilt-edged tenant. We’re seeing Boston attract investors from the US as well as from Germany, Canada, the Middle East, and Asia. (Win a World Series and all of a sudden everybody wants to hang out with you.) There’s so much more debt and equity than in the past, in part, because China is a major player now and previously was a non-factor.
RBS Citizens, guided by Kevin Boyle and Sean Randall, was the lead bank on the loan for One Northern Ave, which is slated for Spring ’16 completion. John and HFF have been involved with Fan Pier and the transforming waterfront for a decade, he says. In ’05, they brokered the Fan Pier land deal then later, the financing for the 1.1M SF Vertex office/lab complex and last fall’s construction loan for 22 Liberty, one of few big new Boston condo projects to get into construction post-recession.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
South Common Apartments secured a $4M Fannie Mae loan to buy a 72-unit multifamily property at 132-138 South Common St and 1-4 Fosdick Ter in Lynn. Centerline Capital Group secured the financing for the complex that's 97% occupied.
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AO Eyewear, maker of aviator sunglasses worn by the US military, is renovating and equipping its 12k SF Southbridge building to help it move production jobs back to Massachusetts from China. To help finance the project, MassDevelopment issued a $1.5M tax-exempt bond that was purchased by Southbridge Savings Bank.
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National Development will complete its pioneering Station Landing mixed-use complex in Medford with the Boston area’s first AC Hotel by Marriott. Construction on the 152-room, select service European-style boutique hotel is planned to start Q4 ’14. The concept is inspired by Marriott’s European JV with AC Hotels and its founder AC Catalan, which has 79 properties in Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France. Station Landing has 600 luxury residential units, stores, restaurants, office space, and a Boston Sports Club. It's a brief stroll from the MBTA Wellington Station on the Orange Line.
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Delaware North Co plans to start $70M of renovations to The TD Garden this summer. Look for a relocated and expanded pro shop, snazzier concessions, and Legends Club for season ticket holders.
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Oaktree FX Development officially broke ground yesterday on Brookside Square in Concord, a $23M, transit oriented development with 74 rental apartments and 36k SF of commercial space. The project includes 3,000 SF of affordable commercial space and eight affordable apartments.
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The 130-year-old Bennet Street School won a $250k grant from MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council to renovate its new facility on the Rose Kennedy Greenway and create a public gallery for lectures and exhibits. A prior Mass Development grant helped the school buy the new building.
SALES
Colony Realty Partners paid $30.3M to National Development and ASB Capital Management for the 162k SF Offices at Station Landing in Medford, they said today. Cushman & Wakefield’s Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, and Matt Pullen managed the deal.
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The Federated Companies paid $6.3M to Bixby Bridge Capital for Harbor Village in Townsend, a Hanaford-anchored shopping center that also houses a Rite Aid, Santander (Sovereign) Bank, and a McDonald’s in a visible location with strong demographics. Cushman & Wakefield's Robert Griffin, Geoffrey Millerd, and Justin Smith were the brokers for the sale of the center, which is 75% occupied.
BUSINESS
Cresa is expanding in the UK and Asia. It acquired London-based DeVono Commercial Property Advisors—now Cresa DeVono—with plans to follow with growth in Hong Kong, CEO Jim Leslie tells us. This is the first time that Cresa will have its own tenant-rep feet on the ground in the UK or Europe. Already working in New York, and on the verge of announcing its Asian expansion, Cresa will then be present in the world's three major financial centers. This is the start of the new growth phase, Jim says.
LEASING
A 135k SF Target will open in the $500M University Station in Westwood next year. New England Development, Eastern Real Estate, National Development, and Clarion Partners are partners in the 130-acre, 2M SF mixed-use project adjacent to the commuter rail station at the junction of Routes 95 and 128. It will feature 750k SF of retail, a 350k SF Class-A office building, 650 residential units, up to 160 hotel rooms, and an assisted living and a 100-unit memory care facility.
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The Conservatory Lab School, a public charter school, leased 30k SF at the former Laboure Nursing College at 1210 Dorchester Ave on the campus of Steward/Carney Hospital. Colliers' Robert Cronin repped both parties in the transaction. The school will operate here until it can build a new 50k SF facility. Colliers is looking for the site.
ASSIGNMENTS
Inland American Real Estate Trust hired Avison Young to sell 235 Barnum Rd in Devens, a 184k SF high end warehouse and distribution facility now fully leased to Quiet Logistics through April ’19. The 16-acre site sits within the 4,400-acre master plan redeveloped former Fort Devens military base that was decommissioned in ‘96
KUDOS
Gerding Edlen prez Kelly Saito has been appointed to join Boston’s 2014 Climate Action Plan Steering Committee that will advise the city’s public/private/non-profit delegation to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The invitation-only global network of cities is preparing for and helping to prevent climate change. Other North American C40 cities are DC and Vancouver.
