BentallGreenOak Buys 700K SF Boston-Area Industrial Portfolio
BentallGreenOak has spent more than $135M to significantly expand its Greater Boston warehouse footprint.
The investment firm purchased a nine-building, 700K SF portfolio from Novaya Real Estate Ventures this month, according to CBRE, which brokered the deal. The seven Massachusetts assets sold for a combined $135M, according to property records, while records weren't available for the two New Hampshire buildings in state records Friday afternoon.
The portfolio is 94% leased with tenants including robotics and medical device manufacturers and at least one distributor, according to CBRE. The portfolio was purchased in 2019 by Novaya from Wakefield Investments for $80M, according to records.
“The Greater Boston area boasts robust and growing life sciences, R&D and light manufacturing sectors that position this dynamic portfolio exceptionally well for the long term,” BentallGreenOak Managing Director of Asset Management Mark Reinikka said in a statement.
The buildings include 200 Research Drive in Wilmington — which sold for $40M alone — along with 500, 600 and 800 Research Drive, 16, 17 and 29 Esquire Road in Billerica and 34A and 34B Londonderry Road in Londonderry, New Hampshire, 45 miles from Boston.
The properties, which were Wakefield owned for decades before Novaya bought them, include 18-20 foot clear heights ideal for either warehouse, research and development or manufacturing uses, Novaya said in 2019. The purchase brings BentallGreenOak's industrial portfolio in Greater Boston to more than 2.5M SF.
The sale comes amid historic-low rates of availability and vacancy, at 6.8% at 3.8%, respectively, in Boston's industrial market, in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to CBRE research. The market, seeing demand from both biomanufacturing and e-commerce tenants, has seen land prices double and in some cases triple over the last two years.
