The Deal Sheet
GI Partners paid Davis Marcus nearly $73M for 850 Winter St in Waltham, one of the highest per square foot suburban sale prices so far during this cycle.
Institutional investors got into “spirited bidding” for one of the few office assets built in the Rte 128 market in the last 10 years, Jonathan Davis tells Bisnow. (They must've been watching too much Auction Hunters.) The building in Reservoir Woods is 100% leased, has flexible floor plates and two separate entrances to accommodate a corporate HQ as well as several smaller tenants. The JV has more land and hopefully will build more there, Jon adds.
The 180k SF sale also reflects improving suburban fundamentals, says Cushman & Wakefield executive director Mark Roth. In Waltham, the direct vacancy for Class-A office buildings is only 9% compared to nearly 21% during the trough of Q4 ’09. (Even ghosts couldn't afford the rents back then.) In the past four months alone, rents rose 10%. The market strength is sustainable because it’s based on tenant revenue growth. The Waltham market is looking so good that there’s likely to be spec development in the next three months, Mark tells us. Cushman & Wakefield‘s Rob Griffin, Ed Maher, and Matt Pullen repped Davis Marcus.
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James Campbell Co, advised by Colony Realty Capital, paid Brookwood Financial nearly $22M for One Alewife Center in Cambridge. Cushman & Wakefield’s Rob Griffin, Ed Maher and Matt Pullen, led the sale of the 91% leased, 90k SF property.
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A JV of The Dolben Company and a fund advised by Cornerstone Real Estate sold the 280-unit Summit Place in Methuen to an affiliate of Acumen Real Estate for an undisclosed price. CBRE/New England’s Simon Butler and Biria St John repped the seller and found the buyer.
Construction & Development
Cabot, Cabot & Forbes and capital partner Boston Andes Capital plan to start construction this year on a 180-unit apartment building near the North Quincy Red Line stop, CC&F’s Mike Boujoulian tells us. The team paid $10.3M for the two-acre site to entities controlled by Michael Verrochi, who purchased it for $2M in ’09.
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The Boys and Girls Club of Boston broke ground on a new $2.5M, 7,800 SF teen center in Mattapan on Saturday, a redevelopment of the vacant former Mattapan Library on Hazleton Street. Slated to open in the fall, the facility will have a computer lab, an education area with meeting spaces, a commercial kitchen, a 65-seat community theater that can also be used for fitness activities, and a music studio.
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Cape Abilities, a nonprofit serving disabled Cape Cod residents is renovating its main office in Hyannis and will build a barn and greenhouse at its farm in Dennis. A $2.6 M tax-exempt MassDevelopment bond will help fund the project and refinance debt.
Leasing
Sarepta Therapeutics, a developer of innovative RNA-based therapeutics, has taken 45k SF at 215 First St in Kendall Square for its new global HQ. The office/lab space can support early stage drug discovery and development. The company also will acquire a 60k SF manufacturing facility on 26 acres in Andover.
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Gray, Gray & Gray is leasing 25k SF from One Beacon Insurance Group at 150 Royall St in Canton and planning for a July move-in. Colliers repped the tenant and Babson Real Estate Advisors repped the landlord. The project team: Marguilies Perruzzi Architects, Erland Construction, and RDK Engineers.
Morpho Detection leased the entire 64k SF at 23 Frontage Rd in Andover. Transwestern | RBJ’s John Wilson, Brian McKenzie, James Lipscomb and Jared Pimm, repped the owner, RJ Kelly Co., in the 10-year lease.
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Law firm Hamblett & Kerrigan leased 7,206 SF at 20 Trafalgar Square, The Glass Tower, in Nashua; a relo from 146 Main St. CBRE/New England’s Roger Dieker repped the tenant. Landlord TNK was repped by Korsak Realty’s Jon Tamposi.
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Dover Rug & Home leased 2,500 SF of ground-floor retail space from Related Beal at 390 Stuart St, The Clarendon, planning July occupancy. In the Back Bay, the store will be within walking distance of the Public Garden, Copley Square, and Newbury Street. Boston Urban Partners’s Sam Hawkey repped the landlord.
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Westchester Management leased 3659 SF from Campanelli at Strawberry Hill Corporate Center in Acton. Avison Young’s Jack Kerrigan, Steve Cook, Bill Sullivan, and Anne Flanagan repped the landlord; Regional Consulting Group’s Tom Geagan Jr repped the tenant.
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Independent Electric Supply leased 12k SF of flex space at 20 Old Colony Ave in South Boston. This is a new branch operation for the company that has its HQ in Somerville. NAI Hunneman’s JP Plunkett repped the landlord Cole Development. Boston Commercial Properties’ Warren Brown repped the tenant.
