Shorenstein Investment Advisers has teamed up with Tritower Financial Group to acquire The Xchange, a 480,000-square-foot office and R&D complex in Bedford, Mass., for $96 million. The new ownership also secured $50 million in acquisition financing provided by Barings, according to CommercialEdge.

The seller was Jumbo Capital Management, which previously purchased the office campus for $107.8 million in 2018, according to the same source.

The XChange is 99 percent occupied by a mix of tenants including iRobot, Nyobolt, Entegris and Quanterix. JLL’s Senior Managing Director Christopher Lawrence and Executive Managing Director Matt Daniels have been tapped to lease the remaining space at the property.

An eight-building innovation campus, The XChange is at 8 Crosby Drive, within Boston’s Merrimack Valley West submarket. Situated on 22 acres, the complex provides easy access to Massachusetts Route 3 and to Interstate 95, while being 21 miles from downtown Boston and Boston Logan International Airport.

Developed in 1968 and completely upgraded in 2017, The XChange buildings range between two and three stories. The properties feature loading docks, passenger elevators and 760 vehicle parking spots.

The amenity package contains a fitness center with a yoga studio, a modern café and outdoor seating spaces. The partnership plans to further enhance the property and add 70,000 square feet of R&D space.

Boston’s office investment activity

Since the start of the year, Boston’s office transaction volume placed it among the top-performing markets in the U.S., according to a recent CommercialEdge report. The metro recorded $2.5 billion in sales and ranked fourth, with office assets trading at an average sale price of $259 per square foot as of January. The value is the seventh-highest among the top 25 markets covered by CommercialEdge.

In late 2024, Norges Bank Investment Management purchased interests in two office properties in the area, as part of a larger deal. The bank paid $976.8 million for a 50.1 percent stake in a 3.7 million-square-foot office portfolio that included assets in Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

The post Shorenstein JV Pays $96M for Boston R&D Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Rockpoint continues to grow its industrial portfolio with the acquisition of Uxbridge Distribution Center, a cross-dock facility of more than 607,000 square feet in Uxbridge, Mass.

Scannell Properties sold the asset for $120 million, according to the Worcester Business Journal. The publication stated it was the largest property sale in Central Massachusetts since 2020.

Completed in 2023, the distribution center occupies 70 acres at 40 Lackey Dam Road in the Worcester, Mass., submarket. While most of the property is in Uxbridge, some of it lies in the towns of Sutton and Douglas, Mass.

READ ALSO: Industrial Sector Transitions as Supply Shrinks

The warehouse has a 36-foot maximum clear height and 127 docks. The property also includes adjacent industrial outdoor storage space and a parking field. Rockhill Management, Rockpoint’s dedicated property services affiliate, will be the property manager.

McKesson Corp. occupies approximately 73 percent of the facility, having signed a 15-year lease in December 2023 for 444,413 square feet. A Lincoln Property Co. report for the Greater Boston market noted it was the largest industrial deal closed in Massachusetts in the fourth quarter of that year.

Rockpoint industrial growth

Rockpoint has made 13 industrial investments with more than 12 million square feet since 2020. Since 1994, Rockpoint has invested in or committed to invest in 503 transactions with a total peak capitalization of about $80 billion. The firm’s co-founders have also sponsored 19 investment vehicles and related co-investment vehicles through Rockpoint and a predecessor firm.

In January 2024, Rockpoint raised $5.1 billion in aggregate equity capital commitments, including the close of Rockpoint Real Estate Fund VII at $2.7 billion. Fund VII targets opportunities in the U.S. across real estate sectors including industrial, multifamily, single-family rental, hospitality and select office investments.

More recently, Rockpoint formed a strategic partnership with Greystar to continue the development of Gateway Logistics Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. The project is the largest industrial development in Pinellas County in more than two decades.

The firm is also developing Race Track Logistics, a trophy industrial park in Pompano Beach, Fla., that will total about 1.5 million square feet at full build-out. The first phase, comprising four buildings totaling 621,243 square feet, is slated for completion in the summer.

The post Rockpoint Pays $120M for MA Industrial Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Sometimes the most accomplished investors and developers thrive while keeping a relatively low public profile. That’s clearly true of The Fallon Company. For nearly 20 years, the Boston-based firm has been the driving force behind Fan Pier, the three million-square-foot development on Boston Harbor that ranks among the most significant urban placemaking initiatives of the past couple of decades.

My guest for this episode is Michael Fallon, the firm’s CEO and the successor to Joe Fallon, the company’s founder and Mike’s dad.

In a way, this conversation brings me full circle. When I started covering real estate, the reinvention of Fan Pier was in its earliest stages, and Joe Fallon was one of the first industry CEOs I had the opportunity to sit down with. Two decades later, Joe has moved into a new role as chairman, his son Mike has taken on CEO responsibilities and the epic redevelopment of Fan Pier is nearing completion.

In this conversation, you’ll also hear about the pivotal experience Mike gained from working in another industry, the new markets that he views as promising, and the company initiative that opens doors for young people to real estate careers. Take a listen.

Episode highlights:

Origin story of a Boston landmark (2:56)

The life science lease that became a turning point (7:20)

Boosting resilience with a U.S. first (10:45)

Where The Fallon Co. sees the next big opportunities (15:39)

Growing a footprint in the South (20:54)

Early influences: getting the flavor of the business (24:49)

Takeaways from construction industry experience (28:38)

Tips for aspiring professionals (31:22)

An innovative, “wildly impactful” program for young people (34:29)

How to revitalize U.S. downtowns (39:41)

Mike Fallon off the clock (44:53)

Follow, rate and review CPE’s podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! 

The post Investment Matters: Boston’s Quiet Powerhouse appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Launched in 2020, Generate is the first drug generation company using a machine learning-powered generative biology platform with the ability to more quickly create new and more effective drugs on demand. The company unveiled its cryogenic electron microscopy laboratory at IQHQ’s life science district in Andover in June 2023.

The CryoEM laboratory is one of the largest of its type in the U.S. It is equipped with four microscopes that provide detailed molecular visualization enabling scientists to see the structure of proteins too small to be seen with traditional microscopes. The lab and its data are enriching the Generate platform leading to advancements in therapeutic design and drug discovery.

READ ALSO: What’s Defining Office in 2025?

IQHQ, a life science REIT and real estate developer, acquired the approximately 201,500-square-foot campus at 4 Corporate Drive in the 495 Corridor between 2020 and 2021. The REIT paid Eisai $35.9 million in March 2020 for the two-building, 18-acre campus, according to CommercialEdge. In spring 2020, IQHQ signed two long-term leases at the multi-tenant campus with UMass Lowell and Ora Inc., an ophthalmic contract research organization and product development firm.

Located in the Merrimack Valley East submarket about 20 miles north of Boston, Innovation Park was completed in 1987 and renovated and expanded in 2006. IQHQ also updated the campus by adding a café with indoor and outdoor seating, a fitness center and common-area improvements. The office and lab property has two low-rise buildings and 671 parking spaces. With renovations, the campus is now a 340,000-square-foot life science hub for biotechnology companies and life science manufacturing companies.

Growing life science portfolio

IQHQ, which acquires, develops and operates life science districts throughout the U.S., has been growing its presence in hubs including San Francisco, San Diego and Boston. In Boston, the REIT’s properties and projects include 109 Brookline Ave., a 285,000-square-foot lab and office building near the Longwood Medical Area, which IQHQ acquired from Equity Commonwealth in February 2020. That same year, IQHQ acquired Alewife Park, a 290,000-square-foot life science campus in Cambridge, Mass., in a $125 million sale-leaseback deal.

In April 2021, IQHQ and Meredith Management broke ground on Fenway Center, a $1 billion life science campus in Boston that will include lab, office and ground-floor retail space totaling almost 1 million square feet of space.

Nearly a year ago, IQHQ has topped out Spur Phase One, a 330,000-square-foot life science building in South San Francisco, Calif. Completion of the eight-story development is anticipated early this year.

The post IQHQ Inks Biotech Firm to Lease Renewal, Extension appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

BioMed Realty has topped out 585 Kendall, a 637,000-square-foot life science building in Cambridge, Mass. Development partners include CBT Architects, Suffolk Construction, Takeda and Global Arts Live.

The developer broke ground on the project in October 2022 and last year took out a $683.1 million construction loan from Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, according to CommercialEdge information. Completion is scheduled for next year.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals already preleased the development’s 600,000-square-foot office and lab space. The company will establish a dedicated research and development facility at the property. However, Takeda’s suburban campus will remain in Lexington, Mass., at 95 Hayden Ave.

READ ALSO: Boston Office Vacancy Up, Deliveries Higher

Located at 585 Kendall St., the proposed LEED Gold-certified building is taking shape less than 4 miles from downtown Boston and Boston Logan International Airport. The 16-story structure is also adjacent to Kendall Square.

When complete, the mid-rise will also include a 30,000-square-foot performing arts center with a 400-seat space, as well as flexible multipurpose rooms for workshops and meetings and an indoor garden developed in partnership with Global Arts Live.

Boston’s growing life science inventory

Boston leads nationally for life science construction activity, according to CommercialEdge research. Between 2019 and October 2024, almost 16.9 million square feet were underway in the market across 60 projects. In 2024 alone, more than 680,000 square feet of life science space broke ground, while deliveries amounted to 2.8 million square feet.

Last year, The Davis Cos. and Invesco Real Estate completed the second phase of The Quad, a 554,019-square-foot life science campus also in Cambridge. Scheduled to break ground this spring, the last phase will comprise 280,000 square feet.

The post BioMed Realty Tops Out Boston Life Science Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Ares Management Real Estate has acquired a 198,720-square-foot Class A distribution center in Taunton, Mass. The property changed hands for nearly $44.3 million, according to Bristol County public records.

The buyer made the acquisition through one of its real estate funds and will manage the property through Ares Industrial Management.

JLL represented the seller, a fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Emerging Industrial Markets in 2024

The property is at 151 Charles F. Colton Road and came online in 2014. The single-story industrial facility features 28-foot clear heights, ESFR sprinklers, 30 loading docks and 23 trailer parking spots. It is fully leased by Sullivan Tire, according to CommercialEdge. The same data provider shows that the property previously changed hands in 2021, when Brookfield Asset Management paid $29 million to seller The Maggiore Cos.

The 15-acre property offers access to major transportation corridors such as interstates 495 and 95, as well as to U.S. Route 24 and U.S. Highway 44, allowing easy connectivity to the Providence, R.I., area and to the Greater Boston region.

Boston is within a 42-mile drive, while Norwood Memorial Airport is 24 miles away and Providence is 28 miles from the property. Additionally, the distribution center is within Myles Standish Industrial Park, the largest master-planned industrial campus in the state.

Managing Director Michael Restivo and Director David Coffman with JLL worked on behalf of the seller.

Boston posts high industrial sales prices

Industrial investment activity remained stable throughout 2024, with $54.6 billion in deals at a national level recorded year-to-date through November, a recent CommercialEdge report shows. The amount will likely match 2023 deals.

Across Northeastern markets, Boston recorded $639 million in industrial sales, surpassing only Bridgeport in the region. Meanwhile, Boston sale prices averaged $161 per square foot, surpassed only by New Jersey’s $218 per square foot in the region.

A recent deal in the area is B&D Holdings’ $18.5 million acquisition in Avon, Mass. The company purchased a 109,300-square-foot industrial property from a joint venture between Oliver Street Capital and Bain Capital Real Estate.

The post Ares Management Pays $44M for Boston-Area Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Norges Bank Investment Management has taken full ownership of a 3.7 million-square foot office portfolio, paying $976.8 million for the remaining 50.1 percent interest in the properties. TIAA subsidiaries sold the assets.

The transaction, which values the portfolio at $1.95 billion, closed through NBIM’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund.

Nuveen Real Estate, a subsidiary of TIAA and a long-time partner of NBIM, represented the sellers and will continue to manage the properties.

The portfolio includes eight office buildings in Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The properties are:

• 501 Boylston St., Boston—subject to an existing debt of $194.9 million
• 33 Arch St., Boston
• Foundry Square 2 at 405 Howard St., San Francisco
• 888 Brannan St., San Francisco
• 800 17th St., Washington, D.C.
• Evening Star at 1101 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C.
• Franklin Square, 1300 I St., Washington, D.C.
• 25 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, D.C.

READ ALSO: Office Sector Decline Continues Amid Flexibility Shift

Given the significant disruptions in the office sector, this moment still presents a prime opportunity for investment, NBIM’s Global Co-Head of Unlisted Real Estate Per Løken said in company statement.

In October, Norges Bank Investment Management made another investment in the U.S. office market by acquiring the majority stake in a two-building, 133,449-square-foot office campus in Menlo Park, Calif. The company paid $217 million for a 97.7 percent ownership interest in 2882-2884 Sand Hill Road, situated along one of the most expensive streets for office space in the nation. The transaction valued the property at $222 million.

Boston’s healthy office sector

Boston’s office sector continued to shine, topping the nation for development pipeline and completions. With the influx of new properties, the market’s vacancy rate rose by 650 basis points year-over-year as of October, reaching 16.8 percent, according to a recent CommercialEdge report.

Sales in the metro in the first 10 months of the year accounted for $1.1 billion. Boston’s office assets traded for $187 per square foot on average, slightly above the $177 national average. The market ranked sixth nationally for office investment volume, CommercialEdge data shows.

The post Norges Bank Pays $977M for Office Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

BXP has inked a 413,000-square-foot office lease renewal with Ropes & Gray at the Prudential Tower, a 1.2 million-square-foot building in Boston. The law firm will occupy the space through 2041.

Ropes & Gray moved into the upper floors of the high-rise in the fall of 2010. BXP’s headquarters is within its own tower, occupying 25,000 square feet, according to CommercialEdge data.

Additional tenants include Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston (39,185 square feet) and Big Pine Capital (17,000 square feet). The tower was 97.9 percent leased as of September, according to BXP’s supplement for 2024’s third quarter.

The 52-story tower at 800 Boylston St. debuted in 1965, featuring 28,500-square-foot floorplates. At 749 feet, it is the second-tallest office building in Boston after the 790-foot-tall tower at 200 Clarendon St., which is also owned by BXP, the same source shows. BXP, formerly Boston Properties, acquired Prudential Tower in 1998 for $388 million.

READ ALSO: Office Report: Office Sector Decline Continues Amid Flexibility Shift

The office high-rise is the largest property within the Prudential Center, a five-building, 3.6 million-square-foot office campus including 653,000 square feet of retail and about 3 million square feet of office space. The Center is within walking distance of the Charles River and about 2 miles from downtown Boston.

Prudential Center includes amenities such as a post office, car wash, direct connection with the Green Line MBTA station, as well as a 3,000-space parking garage, among others.

Greater Boston’s office leasing activity picks up the pace

Metro Boston witnessed a growth in aggregate office leasing activity for the third quarter in a row, with the figure clocking in at 1.9 million square feet from June to September and besting the previous quarter by 31 percent, according to a report by Avison Young.

The City on a Hill’s office availability rate stood at 28 percent in September, unmoved from June, the same source reveals. This marked the first time the index didn’t rise since 2022’s third quarter. Trophy buildings fared significantly better, with a rate of 17.3 percent.

The prime office space of trophy buildings was in high demand, accounting for 22 percent of all leasing activity during the third quarter, Avison Young shows. The figure was just 6 percent the previous quarter.

As return-to-office policies continue to evolve, Greater Boston’s Friday office visitations spiked 35 percent year-over-year through August, the report points out. The overall office visitation rate remained resilient, improving by 1.5 percent during the same period and reaching 57.3 percent of prepandemic levels in August.

BXP landed another lease renewal this summer when Bain Capital doubled down on its 378,000-square-foot agreement at 200 Clarendon St., formerly John Hancock Tower. The asset was 99 percent leased in September, BXP’s supplement shows.

The post BXP Lands 400 KSF Lease Renewal at Boston Tower appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Life sciences assets continue to be among the most sought-after projects for developers in the area, driven by increasing demand for cutting-edge research facilities and innovation hubs. The subsector accounted for 8.6 million square feet of the 10.8 million square feet of office space under construction.

Boston’s investment volume is also holding steady, with total sales amounting to $1.1 billion. Additionally, the city remained one of the most expensive office markets nationwide in terms of rents, averaging $53.35 per square foot, a 17.0 percent growth year-over-year.

Office developments continue to reshape the city’s skyline

Boston’s office under-construction pipeline at the end of October stood at almost 10.8 million square feet, continuing to lead nationally, based on CommercialEdge data. This accounts for 4.3 percent of its existing inventory, almost five times larger than the 0.9 percent national rate. San Francisco (3.8 million square feet), Austin (3.5 million square feet) and San Diego (3.1 million square feet) trailed behind the metro.

Earlier this summer, Tishman Speyer topped out the first phase of its Harvard Enterprise Research Campus in Allston, Mass. The 440,000-square-foot lab component broke ground last November and is a collaboration of the company with Harvard University and The Harvard Allston Land Co. The master plan is one of the biggest construction projects in Boston and is expected to total about 900,000 square feet of residential, office and retail space.

In terms of completions, the metro saw 5.7 million square feet coming online as of October. The 19 delivered properties account for 1.9 percent of Boston’s inventory, considerably above the 0.6 percent national figure. It also marks an 11.4 percent year-over-year improvement.

Among gateway markets, Boston ranked first in terms of completions as well. Chicago (4.8 million square feet), Seattle (3.9 million square feet) and Manhattan (3.1 million square feet) also ranked high nationwide, while Miami (1.1 million square feet) and Washington, D.C. (1.9 million square feet) saw less space coming online.

In October, a joint venture of CBRE Investment Management, Leggat McCall Properties and Granite Properties completed the conversion of 40 Thorndike, a 475,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Cambridge, Mass. The property, previously a courthouse and jail from the 1940s, includes 422,000 square feet of office space and 48 affordable units.

Government agencies grant more funds for conversions

This year, CommercialEdge has developed the Conversion Feasibility Index, a Yardi-powered tool meant to assess an office property’s suitability to multifamily conversion. As the office-to-residential adaptive reuse topic continues to gain momentum, the CFI provides valuable insights for investors.

State and national agencies are also actively supporting this trend. Recently, the City of Boston announced the extension and additional funding for its Office to Residential Conversion Program. The state is contributing $15 million to encourage the adaptive reuse of larger office buildings into housing.

One of the projects that received approvals from the Boston Planning & Development Agency earlier this year is 85 Devonshire St., which involves the conversion of three adjacent office buildings into one community totaling 95 residential apartments. KS Partners is developing the project, which is set to also include 19 affordable units and retail space, CommercialEdge data shows. The property’s CFI score stands at 79, meaning that while a solid candidate for conversion, some roadblocks will be present in the process. .

Metro Boston is one of the top markets suitable for office adaptive reuse. About 5.9 million square feet of its office space has strong potential for conversion, accounting for 1.9 percent of the city’s total stock.

Boston pricey deals remain extant

Sales in the metro in the first 10 months of the year accounted for $1.1 billion. Boston’s office assets traded for $187 per square foot on average, slightly above the $177 national average.

The market ranked sixth nationally in terms of office investment volume. Manhattan ($3.3 billion) remained in the spotlight, followed by Washington, D.C. ($2.5 billion). San Francisco ($722 million) and Seattle ($668 million) were some of the gateway metros that were at the opposite end of the spectrum.

In one of the most expensive deals per square foot, Azora Group acquired 149 Newbury Street, a 45,495-square-foot office and retail building for $101 million. The mixed-used asset came online last year and traded for about $2,220 per square foot.

Vacancy rate rises sharply, still below the national average

Boston’s office vacancy rate at the end of October clocked in at 16.8 percent, 650 basis points higher year-over-year, the second-highest increase among the top markets. Despite the worrisome increase in vacant space, the metro’s metrics were below the 19.4 national average and large leasing deals still happened.

For example, back in August Bain Capital signed a 378,000-square-foot lease renewal and expansion at BXP’s 200 Clarendon St., a 1.7 million-square-foot office tower in Boston. The company initially signed a 208,000-square-foot, 15-year agreement at the building in 2010.

Additionally, Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance signed a 106,000-square-foot leasing agreement at Tishman Speyer’s One Federal Street. Six government agencies are expected to occupy two full floors at the more than 1.1 million-square-foot building for at least 10 years.

The metro also fared better than most of the other gateway markets, except for Manhattan (16.7 percent), Miami (14.4 percent) and Los Angeles (15.7 percent). However, San Francisco (27.7 percent) and Seattle (25.8 percent) had more space left vacant.

Boston coworking’s space trails behind gateway markets

Boston’s office sector comprised more than 4.8 million square feet of shared office space across 207 properties. This represents 1.8 percent of the metro’s total inventory. Among gateway markets, only Washington, D.C. (1.7 percent) had a lower share of coworking space, while Miami (3.8 percent), Manhattan (2.2 percent) and San Francisco (2.1 percent) were at the opposite end.

Additionally, the metro saw a $24 increase in the average monthly rate as of the third quarter of this year, reaching $399 per month, according to CoworkingCafe. The national average during the same time was $300.

Regus was the company with the largest shared space inventory in the market as of October, owning 588,565 square feet across 32 locations. The firm was followed by WeWork (448,716 square feet) and Industrious (223,830 square feet).

Earlier this month, WeWork entered into a revenue-sharing agreement under which it will continue to operate on a three-floor coworking space in Boston. The 64,323-square-foot space is within Fortis Property Group’s State Street Financial Center, a 1.1 million-square-foot, 36-story tower.

The post Boston Office Vacancy Up, Deliveries Higher appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

B&D Holdings has acquired a 109,300-square-foot industrial building in Avon, Mass., for $18.5 million. JLL Capital Markets worked on behalf of the seller, a joint venture between Oliver Street Capital and Bain Capital Real Estate.

The company also assisted the new ownership in securing acquisition financing, in the form of a three-year, fixed-rate loan originated by Provident Bank. The mortgage totals $13.9 million, according to CommercialEdge. The property previously traded in 2021, when the joint venture acquired it for approximately $12 million from Parker Property Management, the same source shows.

The industrial facility is at 21 Parker Drive and is fully leased to Taylor Communications, FreshPoint and HelloFresh. Originally built in 1972, the infill industrial warehouse includes 17- to 32-foot clear heights, 33 dock high doors, five grade-level doors, a 135-foot depth truck court and ample vehicle parking space. Additionally, the property also features a more than 1 acre space for outdoor storage, while tenant suite options range between 5,600 square feet and 49,080 square feet. 21 Parker Drive is also situated within Avon Industrial Park, a master-planned industrial campus that hosts 127 companies.

The approximately 11-acre asset allows easy accessibility to the Greater Boston area, being close to Massachusetts Route 24 and U.S. Route 3, while also providing easy connectivity to interstates 93, 95 and 495. Boston is 20 miles from the property, Boston Logan International Airport is 28 miles away and Providence, R.I., is within 46 miles from the property.

Managing Director Michael Restivo and Director David Coffman with JLL’s Investment Sales and Advisory team represented the seller, while Managing Director Thomas Didio, Managing Director Amy Lousararian and Director Max Cust with JLL’s Debt Advisory team assisted B&D Holdings in securing the acquisition financing.

Sale prices and rents high in Boston

The industrial investment volume in Boston reached $512 million as of October, according to a recent CommercialEdge industrial report. Across the Northeastern region, Boston remained one of the priciest markets, with properties changing hands at an average sale price of $158 per square foot. Only New Jersey outperformed the metro, with an average sale price of $223 per square foot. In-place rents in Boston averaged $10.92 per square foot average in October, making it one of the most expensive industrial markets in the U.S.

JLL became the exclusive leasing broker of a recently completed Class A logistics facility in West Bridgewater, Mass. The 210,600-square-foot industrial property developed by National Development came online last month, with construction financed by a $28 million loan.

The post B&D Holdings Buys Boston-Area Industrial Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Key life science clusters continue to thrive, even amid general economic challenges, because of their dependence on direct research and face-to-face collaboration.

“Unlike other industries where companies can operate remotely, life sciences rely heavily on hands-on research and in-person collaboration—lab work simply can’t happen over Zoom. This commitment to physical spaces has kept demand in established life sciences clusters,” Sonia Taneja, managing director for King Street Properties, told Commercial Property Executive.

While the life science construction pace has slowed in 2024, with only 2.2 million square feet breaking ground compared to 11.4 million square feet in 2023 and 16 million square feet in 2022, the sector has recorded substantial deliveries in previous years. Between the start of 2019 and October 2024, some 36.6 million square feet of lab space came online, including 10.5 million square feet in 2021 and 7 million square feet in 2020. This historical context underscores the robust foundation of the life sciences sector, which continues to support established clusters despite the general sluggishness.

“The life science real estate sector is at a crossroads, with challenges but also signs of recovery. Venture capital deployment is expected to increase as macro conditions improve. However, we should expect varied recovery timeline across different markets and submarkets,” said Maddie Holmes, senior research analyst at JLL.

Following the wave of new supply in 2024, Holmes added, “the new supply outlook improves significantly for 2025 and beyond. This respite in new supply will hopefully give the market some breathing space and the ability to absorb the current oversupply.”

Leveraging CommercialEdge data and expert insights, we delve into the dynamics driving these thriving markets, highlighting how their life science pipelines shape the broader landscape of U.S. commercial real estate.

Boston

Boston solidified its reputation as a leading life sciences hub, boasting a significant volume of construction activity that keeps it at the forefront of the industry.

Between 2019 and October 2024, developers broke ground on 16.8 million square feet of life science space across 60 properties, 5.7 percent of its existing inventory, CommercialEdge data shows.

The market’s strong life science development pipeline reflects ongoing demand, with over 680,000 square feet in construction starts in 2024 alone. In recent years, Boston has significantly expanded its pipeline, with developers breaking ground on 2.5 million square feet in 2023 and 6.7 million square feet in 2022.

From 2019 to October 2024, Boston saw the delivery of more than 10.5 million square feet of new lab inventory, including 2.8 million square feet in 2024, 2.1 million square feet in 2023 and 2.6 million square feet in 2022. This consistent development makes Boston an attractive option for life sciences companies seeking high-quality lab space, particularly as construction slowed in other markets.

Boston’s leadership in life sciences is bolstered by its exceptional talent pool and dynamic innovation ecosystem. World-class research institutions like Harvard and MIT attract top-tier professionals and encourage collaboration with cutting-edge research teams, making the city a natural choice for companies across the life sciences spectrum.

“Innovation tends to cluster around major research and educational institutions, which is why markets like Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Raleigh-Durham continue to attract lab and bioscience companies,” Taneja noted.

San Francisco

San Francisco maintains its role as a top-tier life sciences market, driven by strong development and demand for lab and biotech space. Between 2019 and October 2024, life science construction starts totaled close to 9.1 million square feet across 37 properties, accounting for 4.8 percent of its total inventory. Recent development has seen steady groundbreakings, with 190,000 square feet started in 2024 and 2.5 million square feet in 2023 as well as in 2022.

CommercialEdge data highlights that lab space deliveries in San Francisco totaled 6.7 million square feet across 30 properties from 2019 to October 2024, accounting for 3.6 percent of total inventory. In 2024 alone, nine properties totaling 1.6 million square feet was completed, following deliveries amounting to 2 million square feet in 2023 and 2022.

A key factor in San Francisco’s growth is the ongoing shift toward high-quality, purpose-built lab spaces, Taneja elaborates. Companies are increasingly seeking facilities designed to meet the specific demands of life sciences operations, from structural reinforcements to specialized HVAC systems, rather than relying on converted office space. This trend, combined with anticipated growth in pharma research funding, suggests a favorable outlook for absorption in the metro.

San Diego

Third on our list with 5.7 million square feet of life science construction starts across 33 properties as of October—accounting for 5.1 percent of total inventory—San Diego is strengthening its position as a major hub in the life sciences sector.

The market has maintained a steady development pace, totaling 68,500 square feet in new lab space construction starts in 2024, following 1.7 million square feet across nine properties in 2023 and 400,000 square feet in 2022.

With life science deliveries totaling 3.6 million square feet between 2019 to October 2024—3.2 percent of the market’s inventory—San Diego continues to expand its offerings for biotech and life sciences tenants, with 2.1 million square feet completed in 2024, 310,000 square feet in 2023 and 343,000 square feet in 2022.

Its supply-to-demand ratio, measured by active tenant demand and total availability, stands at 4.0 percent, reflecting a tightening pipeline amid high interest from life sciences firms, JLL research shows.

Additionally, Los Angeles and Orange County are emerging as vital life sciences hubs, particularly in medtech, bolstered by robust healthcare networks and top research institutions. While these areas face supply constraints that limit immediate expansion, the high demand suggests strong potential for future growth.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia is emerging as a significant player in the sector, with 3.1 million square feet of lab space construction starts across 12 properties as of October, or 1.4 percent of existing inventory.

The market saw a strong year in lab space development in 2023, when 1.2 million square feet across three properties broke ground. According to CommercialEdge data, three properties totaling 900,000 square feet broke ground in 2022.

Life science deliveries totaled 1.1 million square feet across seven properties in the 2019-October 2024 interval, representing 0.5 percent of the market’s inventory. Three projects totaling 750,000 square feet came online in 2023, while 2022 saw the completion of four assets encompassing 369,000 square feet.

The market’s growth is driven by strengths in gene therapy and biomedical research. Its access to top research institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia draws biotech firms and talent. Strong venture capital investment and relatively affordable real estate further boost its appeal, making Philadelphia an attractive alternative to pricier markets like Boston.

Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

The North Carolina metro is making strides in the life science arena, amassing more than 2.6 million square feet in construction starts across 18 properties as of October, accounting for 2.9 percent of its total inventory.

The market has seen a total of 517,165 square feet initiated year-to-date in October, alongside significant lab space construction starts in prior years, including 224,000 square feet in 2023 and 823,000 square feet in 2022.

Life science project completions totaled 1.3 million square feet across 10 properties from 2019 to October 2024, accounting for 1.5 percent of the market’s inventory. In 2024, deliveries encompassed 224,000 square feet across two properties, following a 100,500-square-foot asset in 2023 and two properties totaling 363,249 square feet in 2022.

One of Raleigh-Durham's key advantages is its affordable cost of living combined with a growing talent base, making it an attractive destination for life sciences companies.

“As early-stage companies receive funding and established firms expand, they are more likely to grow within their current markets or seek out additional life sciences hubs to support their work,” said Taneja.

Seattle

An already established player in the life sciences sector, Seattle recorded 1.8 million square feet of lab space construction starts across nine properties between 2019 and October 2024, 1.0 percent of its total inventory. While no new projects broke ground in 2024 or 2023, 2022 saw developers start on 1.1 million square feet across five properties.

Meanwhile, developers delivered a total of 1.8 million square feet of lab space across eight properties from 2019 to October 2024, accounting for 0.9 percent of the market’s inventory. In 2024 alone, 393,000 square feet was completed across two properties, while two properties totaling 443,000 square feet were delivered in 2023.

A significant advantage for Seattle lies in its fast-growing and affordable biotech labor pool, which attracts companies looking for skilled talent at competitive costs, Holmes pointed out. This emerging workforce, coupled with the metro’s strong focus on innovation and research, positions Seattle as an appealing destination for life sciences firms aiming to establish or expand their operations in a supportive environment.

The post The Most Active Life Science Markets in the US appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Jones Day is the first office tenant announced for the 690-foot-tall tower dubbed one of Boston’s top projects that will redefine the city’s skyline. 

The 15-year lease will begin following the completion of the building, estimated to be in June 2025. Jones Day, which currently occupies the 21st floor at 100 High St. in the Financial District, will be located on the tower’s 23rd and 24th floors. It marks the firm’s first move within Boston since entering the market in 2011. The new office will provide a Class A+ workspace for employees with flexibility for future growth. Jones Day has more than 2,400 lawyers in 40 offices across five continents, including 1,700 in the U.S.

Mixed-use skyscraper

The tower at 680 Atlantic Ave. is being built above South Station, Boston’s most connected and active transit hub. The project, a partnership between Hines, the Boston Planning & Development Agency and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, includes the redevelopment and extension of the South Station Transportation Center as well as the construction of the approximately 1.2 million-square-foot tower above the 1899-built South Station building. The redevelopment will increase the transportation hub’s capacity by approximately 50 percent and provide more convenient connections to the train and subway.

READ ALSO: The Long-Term Pull of Smaller Markets

Hines began work on the mixed-use project in January 2020, after it secured air rights along with an $870 million construction loan originated by The Children’s Investment Fund, according to CommercialEdge data. Designed by Pelli Clark & Partners, the building will have 680,000 square feet of office space. The upper 16 floors will feature 166 residential units branded and managed by The Ritz-Carlton. Residential sales are underway.

The project will also include a 1-acre private park 120 feet above the city, for tenants and residents, among its amenities. The developers are also building a parking garage over the outdoor areas and adding an indoor bike storage room. Additional amenities will include a conference center, private tenant lounge, fitness and wellness center, dining area and terrace with a swimming pool. The project will also improve the streetscapes with new sidewalks, granite curbs, streetlights and greenery.

The developers are aiming to achieve LEED Gold and WELL Gold certifications, as well as a BREEAM Very Good rating.

The post Hines Lands 1st Tenant at Boston Tower appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

National Development has completed 586 Manley St., a 210,600-square-foot Class A logistics facility in West Bridgewater, Mass., within Boston’s Plymouth County submarket. The general contractor in charge was Cranshaw Construction, while JLL is the exclusive leasing broker of the property.

The development was financed by a $28 million construction loan originated by Cambridge Savings Bank, according to CommercialEdge. The facility can accommodate multiple uses, including warehousing, logistics and last-mile distribution.

The industrial building features 36-foot clear heights, a 10,000-square-foot office component, two drive-in doors, ESFR sprinklers, LED lighting, 37 loading docks, 168 vehicle parking spots and 45 trailer parking spots. -Additionally, the property includes expansion options for vehicle parking and an approximately 1-acre outdoor storage area.

The nearly 21-acre facility provides easy access to Massachusetts Route 24 and to interstates 495, 95 and 93. Downtown Boston is 25 miles away, while Boston Logan International Airport is 27 miles from the property.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Michael Ciummei, Joe Fabiano, Rachel Marks, together with Senior Vice President Chelsea Andre and Associate Dane Caracin are the leasing agents for 586 Manley St.

Slow industrial activity

Development activity in the industrial sector has slowed across the country, also impacting the Northeastern markets, where the under-construction pipeline in key markets experienced significant decreases, a recent CommercialEdge report shows. Year-to-date through September, Boston had 1.9 million square feet of space underway, down from the 2.3 million square feet space recorded last year.

Ongoing industrial projects in the metro include Tishman Speyer and Mitsui Fudosan America’s upcoming redevelopment of a 515,000-square-foot office and manufacturing facility into a four-building industrial campus in Peabody, Mass. In early 2024, another joint venture secured $57 million in financing for the development of a 237,800-square-foot facility in Wilmington, Mass.

The post National Development Delivers Boston-Area Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

WeWork has entered into a revenue-sharing agreement under which it will continue to operate on a three-floor coworking space in Boston. The deal is solidifying the company’s long-term stay at State Street Financial Center, a Class A+ office tower in downtown Boston’s Financial District, owned by Fortis Property Group.

WeWork has been incorporating more revenue-sharing deals as alternative leasing agreements in its portfolio. With this strategy, both operators and landlords can share the on-going demand for this type of space, in line with coworking trends.

The company’s total footprint at the property amounts to 64,323 square feet, according to CommercialEdge. Other tenants include CFGI, Stanton Chase, Taylor Hopkinson and Sherin and Lodgen LLP.

READ ALSO: Are Coworking Networks the Future of Office?

The 36-story Street Financial Center came online in 2003 and encompasses 1.1 million square feet of office space and 900 parking spots. The current ownership picked up the property in 2006 for $889 million from American Financial Realty Trust, the same source shows.

Since then, the building became subject to a $1 billion-plus refinancing deal closed in 2022. The proceeds were used for existing debts and provided more than $200 million for capital upgrades such as complete renovations of the lobby, amenity center, food services and reconfigured floorplates, with a focus on wellness and lifestyle spaces.

The skyscraper at 1 Lincoln St. is close to Interstate 93 and South Station. Boston Logan International Airport is 3 miles away, while Cambridge, Mass., is 6 miles northwest.

A surge in coworking spaces

Coworking spaces continue to gain momentum in the U.S., with the total number of locations reaching 7,538 in the third quarter of 2024, a recent CoworkingCafe report shows. Across the 25 leading markets in the country, Boston recorded 4.8 million square feet of shared space in 208 coworking locations, remaining one of the top 10 metros.

With more companies looking into hybrid- and remote-work solutions, WeWork launched Coworking Partner Network, an affiliate program with third-party operators that will allow existing members to access new flex office space in markets across the U.S. and Canada. The network launched last month and secured its first affiliate, Vast Coworking Group, a franchiser which operates more than 190 locations in 31 U.S. states and 10 Canada cities.

The post WeWork Renews Flex Office Space at Boston High-Rise appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A joint venture of CBRE Investment Management, Leggat McCall Properties and Granite Properties has opened 40 Thorndike, a 475,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Cambridge, Mass. The property is the result of the conversion of the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse and jail that came online in 1974.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance previously owned the asset, which was acquired fully vacant. After a decade in the making, the 20-story building now features 422,000 square feet of office space, 48 fully affordable residential apartments on the second and third floors, as well as ground-level retail space.

In September 2021, the developer obtained a $302 million construction loan originated by Bank OZK, according to CommercialEdge information. Other partners on the project included design firm Elkus Manfredi Architects and construction company John Moriarty & Associates.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Boston Submarkets for Office Construction

Featuring a new the terra cotta and glass facade, the high-rise also comprises a fitness center, childcare and meeting spaces, 362 parking spaces, a restaurant, 20,000 square feet of public outdoor space and a Zen-garden, along with a year-round open market. Additionally, the building is LEED and WELL Gold certified and has a green roof.

The Class A property at 40 Thorndike St. is close to Kendall Square and less than 2 miles from downtown Cambridge. Downtown Boston is within 3 miles, while the Boston Logan International Airport is some 5 miles east.

According to CommercialEdge’s Conversion Feasibility Index that offers insight into the viability of repurposing office properties in various markets, Boston ranks high, with 11.8 percent of its inventory demonstrating excellent potential for conversion with very few challenges.

Boston’s life science pipeline leads the nation

Boston’s office market has been dominated by the life science sector. The metro saw 10.1 million square feet of lab space come online since the start of 2020, according to the latest CommercialEdge office report, with 8.2 million square feet of life science space underway at the end of August, leading nationwide.

In August, Tishman Speyer topped out the 440,000-square-foot lab component of the Harvard Enterprise Research Campus in Allston, Mass. The first phase of the mixed-use campus broke ground in November and is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2026.

A few months earlier, WS Development completed 400 Summer St., a 630,000-sqaure-foot life science building in the Seaport district. Foundation Medicine is using the property as its headquarters.

The post CBRE JV Completes 475 KSF Conversion in Cambridge appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Clarion Partners has received a $94 million, five-year refinancing loan through Société Générale for LINX, a 185,015-square-foot life science building in Watertown, Mass. JLL Capital Markets arranged the deal.

The loan replaces a 10-year, $86 million note from Metropolitan Life that Clarion used to acquire the Class A asset in August 2018, according to information from CommercialEdge.

LINX is a two-story property that’s fully leased to three tenants: C4 Therapeutics, Addgene and Tectonic Therapeutic. Amenities include a grab-and-go café, indoor bike storage for 78 bicycles, a 24/7 locker room with showers and a bocce court, as well as 1 acre of green space.

READ ALSO: Q&A With JLL’s Schoneman on Life Science Investment Drivers

The building came online in 2018 on a 10-acre campus, being surrounded by walking and biking paths. The property also features a two-story, 195-space parking garage with 12 electric car charging stations.

LINX is at 490 Arsenal Way in Watertown’s East End life science cluster. It’s close to Arsenal Yards, a mixed-use lifestyle redevelopment of the former Arsenal Mall, and adjacent to the Target-anchored Watertown Mall. The location also has convenient access to downtown Boston, Logan Airport and the surrounding suburbs via the Massachusetts Turnpike/Interstate 90.

JLL Executive Managing Director Riaz Cassum, Managing Director Amy Lousararian and Vice President Robyn King led the Debt Advisory team representing Clarion. The Société Générale team was led by Managing Director Tim Hallock.

Brighter in Boston

Most major U.S. life science markets have been seeing a worsening supply-demand imbalance over the past year, with nationwide lab availability rising to 30 percent and rents falling by almost 9 percent, according to a JLL report. Among the bright spots, however, was metro Boston, where demand is about even with what was seen in 2019.

Only a few weeks ago, a joint venture of AEW Capital Management, Redgate and Optimum Asset Management secured a $150 million refinancing for Bedford Labs, a 288,000-square-foot, newly converted life science facility in Bedford, Mass. That deal was also arranged by JLL Capital Markets.

The post Clarion Obtains $94M for Boston Life Science Property appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

JLL Capital Markets secured the loan from an Apollo Global Management affiliate on behalf of the joint venture. Senior Managing Directors Brett Paulsrud and Tom Sullivan and Director Mike Shepard led the team representing the borrower.

According to JLL’s 2024 life science properties report, the cycle of softening lab demand has moderated, and U.S. demand has increased since the fall of 2023, up 6.3 percent across the board in the first quarter of 2024. Most of this uptick in demand is concentrated in the top three markets, including Greater Boston.

Bedford Labs was recently repositioned from a single-tenant office building into a life science/R&D facility. Bedford Labs is fully leased to Sarepta Therapeutics, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on rare genetic diseases.

READ ALSO: Designing Tomorrow’s Labs

The site allows for an additional 300,000 square feet of development in addition to the existing building, which can accommodate the further expansion needs of Sarepta and/or other market tenants.

Bedford Labs’ 52 acres are at 100 Crosby Drive, an area attracting others from the sector.

In late May, Persimmon Technologies, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, signed a 142,224-square-foot, long-term lease with W. P. Carey in Bedford, Mass. Newmark represented the owner, while Colliers negotiated on behalf of the tenant.

The tech firm will relocate its headquarters to 35 Crosby Drive, a flex office property currently being redeveloped into an R&D facility. Revamp completion is expected in late 2025.

Venture capital funding set to outpace last year’s total

Bob Dougherty, principal at Luminous Capital Management, told Commercial Property Executive he had observed a modest increase in lab demand during the third quarter, particularly among users seeking 10,000 square feet or less.

According to Pitchbook, nationwide venture capital funding for life sciences was $23 billion through June, putting 2024 on pace to far exceed the 2023 total of $29 billion.

“Space absorption is closely correlated to investment activity, so this likely accounts for the increased demand,” Dougherty said. “Additionally, the lag effect between funding commitments and tenant growth may bode well for the future.” Nonetheless, optimism should be tempered, Dougherty cautions, adding that while improved leasing activity is a welcome change, occupants take a “do more with less” approach to space utilization.

“In a tenant-friendly environment, users don’t feel the need to control future expansion space as they did in a supply-constrained market in 2022-21,” Dougherty said. “They are taking only what they need now and are assuming more space will be available if they need it down the road—and they have far less sanguine growth assumptions.

According to Dougherty, additions to supply in the Big Three life science markets surpass even improved demand levels. “Landlords, particularly those with large blocks of space on offer, will likely face tough sledding well into 2026,” he added.

Demand up for lab space, executive talent

Ken Richter, National Life Science Sector lead at Project Management Advisors, told CPE he is seeing a growing, albeit slow, demand for lab space in the major life science markets.

“We know a few significant pharma-based requirements in the larger West Coast markets that are helping to drive this,” Richter said. “This is a welcome sign and hopefully a harbinger of a return to a broader demand for lab space. Finally, with no new speculative builds starting in the past year or so, we should pass a peak of availability once the current product under construction is delivered.”

The current talent landscape clearly reflects the corporate and commercial real estate market shifts, according to Lisa Flicker, senior managing partner & head of Real Estate for Jackson Lucas.

She told CPE that there is a strong demand for leadership roles in emerging niche asset classes, while executive positions in the life science and biotech sectors have notably lagged.

“Today’s market calls for executive candidates with broad expertise across specialized markets. Sectors like outdoor storage, data centers and senior housing are particularly ripe for new opportunities and growth in their C-suite. As these asset classes evolve into more sophisticated markets, they increasingly require top-tier management to drive their continued success,” Flicker said.

Bullish on Boston’s core markets

Mark Barer, director of Development at Lendlease, which, along with Ivanhoé Cambridge, is nearing completion on FORUM, a nine-story, 350,000-square-foot life science development at 60 Guest St. in Boston’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood, told CPE his firm remains bullish on the long-term demand for life science real estate, particularly in core markets like Boston, which continues to lead the nation in leasing activity.

“Right now, developers need to be creative and collaborative in finding solutions for tenants in today’s marketplace,” Barer said.

Daniel Maldonado, managing director, Life Sciences, Americas at Unispace, told CPE that with life science venture capital activity starting to ramp up, it makes sense that top life science market clusters are starting to see demand pick up, which should steadily progress toward rightsizing the oversupply of life science real estate.

“As the market continues toward stabilization, some owners and landlords have gotten creative with their approaches to leasing and occupancy,” Maldonado said. “While some life science property landlords lease out small amounts of space to traditional office users in newly built, vacant life science projects, others have been diversifying their real estate portfolios and leveraging flexible design in their life science properties that can be adapted for different uses, including office environments.”

According to Maldonado, adaptable spaces catering to life science and office tenants allow landlords and property owners to be nimbler in response to market changes and demands. He added that life science buildings with flexible layouts that accommodate different tenants are easier to lease to office users temporarily, leading to increased financial stability.

“As financing conditions improve, the gap between available life science space and demand for it should begin to close, leading to a shift away from interim leasing strategies and a return to a focus on life science tenants. Lower borrowing costs will likely spur increased investment in life science projects, potentially revitalizing demand for lab spaces and reducing the need for landlords to rely on office tenants.”

San Diego saw a shift from office to life science

Moving to the West Coast, San Diego remains one of the top three markets nationwide for life science development and activity, Sean Slater, senior principal, RDC, told CPE.

“In this key market, the COVID-19 shutdown affected Class A offices and other categories of office that were swiftly pivoted and converted to other uses like life science,” Slater said.

“Creative office,” the name given to large, uninterrupted floor space for creative industries, was devastated by the work-from-home movement, particularly in the tech and media industries, he said.

“Office space designed for creatives was modified to work for life science/biotech uses at Horton Plaza and several other properties nationally,” according to Slater.

He added that this move resulted in a glut of space in a market that had been somewhat starved for new lab space. “The San Diego life science/biotech industry has traditionally centered on a few submarkets like Sorrento Valley and La Jolla Mesa near the University of California San Diego, one of the nation’s preeminent research universities,” he said.

According to Slater, the theory behind this location approach was that biotech could be located in urbanized areas like downtown San Diego due to the growth in high-density residential that cater to a higher-income, younger demographic more likely to work in biotech fields.

Slater said this has not played out as expected in downtown San Diego.

“Much of the life science market here comprises start-ups and small, innovative firms looking to patent technologies and sell to larger Big Pharma companies. These types of companies do not require and cannot afford prime space on public transit in our city center, thus depressing the demand for life science space in the downtown core,” Slater said.

He believes that the “build-it-and-they-will-come” approach may emerge as prescient, however, in the future. “As absorption continues to squeeze the traditional biotech submarkets, firms looking for prime space may start to look more seriously at downtown space like Horton and the RaDD district, which have also recently been completed,” Slater added.

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BGO and Synergy Investments have secured a $375 million four-year extension on their loan for Center Plaza, a 741,200-square-foot office property in downtown Boston.

The two firms acquired the asset featuring three interconnected buildings from Shorenstein Properties in 2017 for $365 million. They didn’t disclose the source of the new financing but in February 2021 Commercial Observer reported KKR provided the partners with a $375 million loan to refinance the property.

READ ALSO: Office Finance Freeze Begins Slow Thaw

Built between 1965 and 1972 and renovated in 2020, Center Plaza has nearly 900 feet of frontage along Cambridge Street and a 575-space parking garage. Each of the nine-story buildings, which have a distinctive curved design, comprises about 252,000 square feet of office space and 25,666 square feet of retail. Amenities feature communal outdoor and lobby spaces, a fitness center and several restaurants including The Dubliner and Caveau.

Leasing up

The LEED Gold-certified property is currently 90 percent leased, significantly surpassing the city’s average rate. In the second quarter, the average leased rate reached 79.5 percent in the downtown Boston submarket, according to the Newmark brokers in charge of leasing at Center Plaza. In the past 12 months, Synergy signed eight lease agreements totaling 136,000 square feet, including 117,000 square feet of renewals and 18,000 square feet of new deals.

Located at 1, 2 and 3 Center Plaza, the office complex is adjacent to the newly renovated Boston City Hall and across from Government Center Station. The John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Suffolk University are also nearby.

Strong office market

Boston’s office sector had a strong showing in the first five months of this year, according to CommercialEdge information. The market led the nation for pipeline size and ranked second and third for completions and sales, respectively. The metro also posted the lowest vacancy rate among top U.S. markets, with about 12.1 percent as of May.

The office pipeline totaled more than 13.6 million square feet representing 5.4 percent of stock, more than four times the national average of 1.2 percent. During the same month, only 83.8 million square feet of office space were under construction across the U.S.

Boston’s vacancy rate as of May clocked in at 12.1 percent, well below the 17.8 percent national average. Even though this marked a 180-basis-point increase year-over-year, the metro had the lowest vacancy rate among gateway markets.

The post BGO, Synergy Land $375M Loan Extension for Boston Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

FTI Consulting has renewed its 21,910-square-foot office lease at 200 State St. The tenant will continue to occupy space on the ninth floor of the Class A office asset.

Carr Properties owns the 320,000-square-foot office building in Boston’s Financial District. The company picked-up the mid-rise building in 2018, when it purchased an 81.2 percent interest in the asset for $222 million, from seller GLL Real Estate Partners, according to CommercialEdge data.

Executive Vice President Connor Faught with Colliers negotiated on behalf of the tenant, while Executive Managing Directors Tim Bianchi, Debra Gould and Bill Anderson of Newmark represented the landlord.

The property is currently 94 percent occupied. Notable tenants include Rose Park Advisors, TD Wealth, Fisher Phillips, Beacon Capital Partners, Avison Young and Centrexion Therapeutics, the same source shows.

READ ALSO: Sizing Up the Prime Office Building Landscape

The LEED Gold certified office property rises 16 stories and features seven passenger elevators, floorplates ranging between 3,702 and 34,096 square feet and 120 vehicle parking spots across two levels.

Completed in 1984, the property recently went through a substantial improvement program bringing a fully upgraded main lobby, the addition of a fitness center with locker rooms and shower facilities, as well as a new cafe kiosk. Other amenities include several rooftop decks, common and meeting spaces and EV charging stations.

Located across Faneuil Hall, 200 State Street is 3 miles from Boston Logan International Airport.

Recent office deals in Boston

Boston’s office market, still driven by its consistent life science sector, recorded one of the lowest office vacancy rates among peer markets as of July, standing at 12.8 percent, a recent CommercialEdge office report shows. The figure is below the national average of 18.1 percent, but still showed a 280-basis-point increase over 12 months.

Last month, BXP closed on a significantly large office lease at 200 Clarendon St., a 1.7 million-square-foot office tower in Boston’s central business district. Investment firm Bain Capital signed the renewal and expansion deal for 378,000 square feet, maintaining its headquarters at the property for the next 15 years.

Tishman Speyer signed a 106,000-square-foot deal at One Federal Street with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, through the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance. The tenants are six government agencies that will occupy two full floors at the 1.1 million-square-foot office tower.

The post Carr Properties Lands 22 KSF Renewal in Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The first phase of the mixed-use research campus broke ground just this past November, as a collaboration of Tishman Speyer, Harvard University and The Harvard Allston Land Co. Last June, the project received a $750 million construction loan from Otera Capital.

Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture of Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, will develop, lease and operate the lab buildings.

The lab project reportedly is on track to be completed in Q1 2026.

The lab buildings’ construction team also includes Janey Construction Management and J&J Contractors, and the campus’s planning and architectural team includes Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, Utile and Marlon Blackwell Architects.

READ ALSO: The Top Alternative Asset Class on Institutional Investors’ Radar

The two lab/R&D buildings total 15 stories. Together, they form the centerpiece of the nearly 3-acre first phase, which will also encompass a 343-unit apartment building (with 86 affordable units), a hotel, and the Treehouse, a conference center operated by Harvard.

The second phase still has to undergo a separate permitting process and is planned to include additional office/lab space for research and development, more residential units, and additional green and open space.

Perennial powerhouse

Of the total lab/R&D space scheduled for delivery across the U.S. over the next two years, more than 40 percent (13.4 million square feet) is in metro Boston-Cambridge, still the nation’s leader, according to a report from CBRE. By comparison, the second-place San Francisco Bay Area totals barely half as much, 7 million square feet.

Only a couple of weeks ago, Eli Lilly and Co. opened its Lilly Seaport Innovation Center, a 12-story, 346,000-square-foot R&D facility in the Boston Seaport. The property, at 15 Necco St., was developed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., in partnership with National Development.

The post Tishman Speyer JV Marks Harvard Project Milestone appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Pharma powerhouse Eli Lilly and Co. has opened its Lilly Seaport Innovation Center, a research and development facility in the Boston Seaport, as was reported by Citybiz on Tuesday.

Lilly Seaport Innovation Center occupies a 12-story, 346,000-square-foot building developed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., in partnership with National Development. The property is located at 15 Necco St. in Boston’s rapidly expanding Seaport district.

The facility reportedly will be used for Lilly’s efforts in RNA- and DNA-based therapies, as well as in pursuing new medicines and treatments towards diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration and chronic pain.

Lilly preleased at the still-underway building in early 2022.

15 Necco St. features a high-performance building envelope, on-site geothermal energy and a solar panel installation. Its developers planned to pursue LEED Gold, Fitwel and WELL certifications. The building also includes laboratory and office space, and will also house the first Lilly Gateway Labs location on the East Coast, which offers turnkey research and development facilities for partner companies.

READ ALSO: MOB Tenants: What’s Hot and What’s Not

Separately, Citybiz reported that Tevard Biosciences Inc., a privately held biotech company developing tRNA-based therapies to treat a range of genetic diseases, will be moving its corporate headquarters to the new Lilly Gateway Labs facility. Companies selected for the Lilly Gateway Labs share expertise and resources with Lilly, but retain their strategic independence and ownership of their assets and intellectual property.

Boston Strong

Alexandria’s portfolio in greater Boston totals 13.2 million rentable square feet across eight campuses, including three prominent campuses in Cambridge: the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square, the Alexandria Center at One Kendall Square, and Alexandria Technology Square.

In terms of existing lab/R&D space, metro Boston is far and away the biggest such market in the United States. Combined with the Bay Area, it accounts for about half of current inventory nationally and closer to two-thirds of space under construction, according to a report by Avison Young.

As lab/R&D sublease availability continues to grow across the country, Boston and the Bay Area are also leaders in this metric, at 61 percent of the total, according to the data.

The post Eli Lilly Opens Major R&D Center at Boston Seaport  appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Bain Capital has signed a 378,000-square-foot lease renewal and expansion for its headquarters at BXP’s 200 Clarendon St., a 1.7 million-square-foot office tower in Boston. In 2010, Bain signed a 15-year lease to occupy 208,000 square feet at the building, with the option to expand to 270,000 square feet prior to occupancy, which took place one year later.

That same year, BXP purchased the tower for $930 million from a joint venture between Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners.

Initially designed by Henry Cobb of I. M. Pei & Partners in the late 1960s, the tower came online in 1976. Rising 790 feet, 200 Clarendon St. is New England’s tallest building and one of Boston’s landmarks.

The 62-story tower features 50,000-square-foot floorplates and an adjacent eight-story parking garage with 2,013 spots. The high-rise was 95.2 percent leased as of June 2024, according to BXP’s supplement for 2024’s second quarter.

Located inside Boston’s central business district, the tower is within walking distance of the Charles River, Public Garden and the Boston Common.

READ ALSO: Tenants Are Leasing More Office Space in Prime Buildings

Following the acquisition in 2010, BXP started implementing a two-phase capital improvement program. The first touched on mechanical system replacement and the second focused on controls modernization.

The developer also implemented an energy conservation measure to reduce the building’s environmental impact. Several key initiatives improved energy performance—reducing electricity consumption by upward of 27 percent—certifying 200 Clarendon St. with LEED Gold and an Energy Star score of 83.

Bain Capital took charge of improving its headquarters as well. The private investment company tapped Commodore Builders and CBT Architects for a multi-level renovation effort targeting floors 38, 43 and 44. The project focused on mechanical, electrical and plumbing reworks, as well as the installation of a decorative stair, among others.

Boston’s low office vacancy in newly-debuted properties

In the second quarter of 2024, Greater Boston registered 1.4 million square feet of leasing activity, according to an Avison Young report. This marked an increase of roughly 100,000 square feet compared to the previous quarter. However, the volume made up only about half of the five-year quarterly average of 2.5 million square feet.

Greater Boston is expected to see roughly 5.3 million square feet of office leases to expire in the next two quarters, the report shows. Consequently, the vacancy rate—which stood at 23.1 percent as of June—is likely to be impacted, should tenants be wary about renewal.

While the flight-to-quality trend continues, the report revealed that prime office buildings constructed in the 2010s and 2020s witnessed the lowest vacancy, at 13.6 percent during the same time interval. Conversely, the highest vacancy rate was found in office properties that debuted in the 1990s, clocking in at 23.7 percent.

According to a second-quarter BXP report on leasing activity, the company inked another 120,000-square-foot lease renewal at 200 Clarendon St. The report mentions a total of 1.3 million square feet of leases were inked nationally by BXP during the same interval, with a weighted average lease term of 9.0 years.

The post Bain Capital Signs 378 KSF Office Renewal, Expansion in Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Tishman Speyer has signed a 106,000-square-foot leasing agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance. The landlord had in-house representation.

For at least 10 years, six government agencies will occupy two full floors at One Federal Street, a more than 1.1 million-square-foot Boston tower. Move-ins are expected by early 2025.

The building’s new tenants will be the Central Administrative Executive Offices for the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation; Division of Banks; Department of Telecommunications and Cable; Division of Standards; Division of Licensing; and Division of Insurance. The agencies will relocate their offices from 1000 Washington St. and 501 Boylston St.

READ ALSO: Boston’s Office Pipeline Leads Nationally

Tishman Speyer acquired the 38-story asset in June 2006 for $514 million from Jamestown using funds from a $262 million loan, according to CommercialEdge information. In 2017, the property became subject to a $380 million note originated by TIAA.

A Class A building in Boston’s CBD

The Class A high-rise came online in 1976 and was completely renovated in 2011. The building has 15,000 square feet of first-floor retail and floorplates between 25,000 and 45,000 square feet.

Amenities at the LEED Gold-certified property include a fitness center, 10 passenger elevators and 90FS, a venue for private events that features an open-air terrace and rooftop garden, as well as access to ZO, Tishman’s global amenities network.

Greystar, Siemens, J.P. Morgan and Long Wharf Capital are some of the building’s tenants, CommercialEdge also shows. The building is located at 1 Federal St. in Boston’s central business district.

Boston’s thriving office sector

Benefitting from a strong life science subsector, Boston is one of the best-performing U.S. office markets. The metro posted the lowest vacancy rate among peer markets as of June, clocking in at 12.8 percent, a recent CommercialEdge office report shows. Additionally, the asking rates averaged $47.60 during the same month, well above the $31.67 national rent.

In May, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries signed a long-term lease for 142,224 square feet in Bedford, Mass. The company will relocate its headquarters to 35 Crosby Drive, one of W. P. Carey’s assets.

Earlier this year, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. extended its leasing agreement for another 10 years at Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.’s 75/125 Binney St. The firm occupies 222,825 square feet at the life science property.

The post Tishman Speyer Signs 106 KSF Tenant in Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Boston’s office sector has excelled in the first five months of the year, according to CommercialEdge information. The market led nationally for pipeline size and ranked second and third for completions and sales, respectively. In addition, the metro posted the lowest vacancy rate among top markets, clocking in at 12.1 percent as of May.

Boston’s office pipeline stood at more than 13.6 million square feet, accounting for 5.4 percent of total stock, more than four times the national average. During the same month, only 83.8 million square feet were under construction across the U.S.

Boston’s office pipeline outperformed across metrics

As of May, Boston’s office pipeline led the nation, with more than 13.6 million square feet under construction—5.4 percent of total stock, way above the 1.2 percent national average. The metro was followed by Austin (4.7 percent) and San Diego (4.2 percent) and San Francisco (3.2 percent).

Additionally, three properties broke ground in the first five months of the year, which are expected to total around 676,350 square feet. This represents almost 6.4 percent out of all the projects that started construction during the same period across the U.S.

When factoring in projects in planning stages, Boston’s office pipeline stood at 11.6 percent of stock, almost triple the national average. Markets such as Austin (15.2 percent) and Dallas (12.2 percent) surpassed Boston, while Seattle (7.7 percent) and Washington, D.C. (4.0 percent), were far behind.

BioMed Realty is one of the most active developers in the market. One of its projects, 585 Kendall, rises in Cambridge, Mass., and will comprise 600,000 square feet of office and life science space. Construction started in 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2026. The 16-story development is already fully preleased to Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

More properties to come online

Eight office properties came online year-to-date as of May totaling 1.8 million square feet—0.6 percent of total inventory. This represented a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase in deliveries, in a time when national completions dropped by 20.4 percent.

Seattle (2.5 million square feet) was the only metro with more space coming online than Boston, while Philadelphia (647,303 square feet), the Bay Area (308,543 square feet) and Los Angeles (303,175 square feet) were at the opposite end of the spectrum. Boston’s office pipeline will continue to prop up development as deliveries continue.

In May, WS Development completed One Boston Wharf, a 707,000-square-foot life science building in the Seaport Innovation District. The LEED Platinum-certified property is fully leased to Foundation, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Roche.

At the beginning of the year, a partnership between Celera Properties and True North Management Group completed the first phase of the 250,000-square-foot Andover Technology Park in Andover, Mass. The life science and innovation project involves the redevelopment of two buildings that came online in 1996 and 1998. The second and final phase is already underway and is expected to be delivered in the following months.

Strong transaction activity bucks trend

Boston ranked third nationally for sales, with $761 million registered year-to-date as of May. Washington, D.C., took the lead with almost $1 billion, followed by the Bay Area ($795 million).

Office assets in the metro traded for $262 per square foot on average, a considerably higher price than the $165 national figure. Austin commanded the highest sales figure ($433), followed by San Diego ($422) and Los Angeles ($368), while Philadelphia ($90) and New Jersey ($112) were at the opposite pole.

In March, BXP sold a 45 percent interest in 290 Binney St., a 570,000-square foot life science development in Kendall Square in Cambridge’s Kendall Square. Norges Bank Investment Management was the buyer. According to their statement, the transaction will reduce BXP’s share of the project’s estimated development cost over time by some $533.5 million.

The building is scheduled to come online in 2026 and is fully preleased to AstraZeneca.

The same month, Synergy Investments acquired the almost 474,000-square-foot 101 Arch St., an office building in Boston’s downtown. Clarion Partners sold the asset for $78 million—or $164.59 per square foot.

Lowest vacancy rate among top markets

Benefitting from the development of high-quality life science properties, Boston’s vacancy rate as of May stood at 12.1 percent, well below the 17.8 percent national average. Even though this marked a 180-basis-point increase year-over-year, the metro fared better than peer markets such as Dallas (450 bps increase), Seattle (350 bps increase) and San Diego (310 bps increase).

Furthermore, Boston had the lowest vacancy rate among gateway markets, whereas San Francisco (25.2 percent) experienced the highest one.

Last month, Persimmon Technologies, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, committed to 142,224 square feet at W. P. Carey’s building in Bedford, Mass. The property at 35 Crosby Drive is currently being redeveloped into a 160,000-square-foot R&D facility. Completion is expected later this year.

In March, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. signed a 10-year lease extension at Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.’s 75/125 Binney St. The firm will continue to occupy 222,925 square feet within the 339,082-square-foot life science property.

The average listing rate in the metro as of May stood at $46.71, a 12.1 percent increase over the year. The national average was $37.72, after a 170-basis-point drop from the same period in 2023.

Boston’s coworking sector remains steady

Boston’s coworking sector comprised a little less than 4.6 million square feet as of May. The metro surpassed Miami (2.9 million square feet) and San Francisco (3.2 million square feet), but lagged behind Washington, D.C. (6 million square feet), and Chicago (6.3 million square feet). Manhattan led nationally, with 11.5 million square feet.

The metro’s shared space volume accounted for 1.7 percent of all leasable office space, slightly below the 1.8 percent national average. Among peer markets, Miami had the largest proportion of shared space out of total stock, clocking in at 3.7 percent.

The post Boston’s Office Pipeline Tops the US appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Nationally, less than 83.7 million square feet of office space were underway during the same period, down more than 50 percent over the past 18 months. Year-to-date through April, only 3.2 million square feet started construction.

Last year, the metro was also one of the top five markets in terms of office real estate investment volume. Boston saw more than $1.3 billion in assets trading from January through October, ranking fourth nationally.

The top five Boston submarkets featured on this list had 11.3 million square feet under construction across 21 office developments.

1. Cambridge

Home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge had almost 3.2 million square feet of rentable office space under construction as of April. This accounted for 22.9 percent of Boston’s underway office space.

Eight properties were in the works during this period, about 5.1 percent of the submarket’s 62.9 million-square-foot existing inventory. Year-to-date through the same month, the hub saw 462,100 square feet coming online, a positive sign compared to 2023, when only 548,000 square feet were delivered all year round.

In terms of total life science stock, Cambridge ranked first once again among all Boston submarkets, with a little less than 1.8 million square feet of rentable space completed.

One of the most notable projects underway is BioMed Realty’s 585 Kendall, an almost 600,000-square-foot development that will feature life science and office space. The developer started construction on the 16-story building in 2022, with funds from a $315 million loan originated by Bank of China, and expects to complete it in 2026. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. fully preleased the property.

2. Seaport Innovation District

The Seaport Innovation District had 2.6 million rentable square feet being developed across three properties as of April—or 18.5 percent of Boston’s total under-construction stock. This also represented 7.5 percent of the submarket’s total inventory, some 34.1 million square feet.

Year-to-date through the first four months, the district saw one building, consisting of almost 263,000 square feet, delivered. Only one property came online last year as well, totaling 580,000 square feet. The submarket also has 963,100 square feet of life science rentable square feet—2.8 percent of its total office stock.

WS Development’s One Boston Wharf was one of Boston’s biggest construction projects in April. The 707,000-square-foot life science development rises 16 stories and was completed at the end of May.

Other significant activities in the area include the development of 10 World Trade, an almost $600 million tower. Boston Global Investors’ 555,250-square-foot building is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of this year.

3. Fenway

Fenway had 2.3 million rentable square feet of office space under construction as of April, taking the third place. With two properties underway, the submarket’s development pipeline accounted for roughly 14.3 percent of its 16.2 million-square-foot total stock. Additionally, this represented 16.6 percent of Boston’s total office space under development.

Last year, the district saw one project measuring 197,000 square feet completed. However, no property came online year-to-date through April.

Out of the top five Boston submarkets, Fenway had the least life science rentable space, about 304,400 square feet. This accounted for roughly 1.9 percent of the neighborhood’s office inventory.

Meredith Management, one of the most present developers in Boston, is working on the second phase of Fenway Center in partnership with IQHQ. The air-rights project will feature a 22-story tower and a 12-story building expected to total around 720,000 square feet of lab and office space.

4. Medford-Malden

The Medford-Malden area had more than 1.9 million of under-construction office rentable square feet in April. The four projects underway account for 10.6 percent of the submarket’s total stock—or 13.9 percent of Boston’s development pipeline.

Last year, the hub led in delivered office space among the top five Boston submarkets, with more than 1.3 million square feet coming online across four properties. In terms of life science space, Medford-Malden had roughly 1.5 million rentable square feet completed at the end of April.

BioMed Realty is active in this submarket as well, with the construction of the first phase of Assembly Innovation Park, a 485,000-square-foot life science tower. In 2022, the company received a $514 million financing package for this project and expects to accommodate tenants as early as the second quarter of next year.

5. Brighton-Brookline

Rounding out the top five Boston submarkets is Brighton-Brookline, with some 1.3 million square feet of rentable office space under construction as of April. The four properties in development account for 28.3 percent of its almost 4.7 million-square-foot total stock, the largest pipeline on a percentage-of-stock basis among the top five submarkets. It also represents 9.5 percent of Boston’s office underway inventory.

The city’s life science inventory during the same month stood at 884,100 rentable square feet, or about 18.9 percent of its total office stock. Projects like Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge’s FORUM, which topped out in September, will further enhance its supply.

Other projects in the area include King Street Properties’ Allston LabWorks, a two-building campus expected to measure about 542,000 square feet. Scheduled to come online by the end of the year, the development will feature laboratory and retail space, as well as multiple residential units and community spaces.

The post Top 5 Boston Submarkets for Office Construction appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The Davis Cos. and Invesco Real Estate have delivered 101 Smith Place, a 161,616-square-foot build-to-suit Class A life science and laboratory building in Cambridge, Mass. The facility represents the second phase of The Quad, a 554,019-square-foot campus.

In 2021, Wells Fargo Bank originated $118.8 million in construction financing for the project, CommercialEdge data reveals. The note is set to mature this December.

The general contractor was Erland Construction, while Jacobs provided design services. AHA Consulting Engineers and McNamara/Salvia served as building and structural engineers, respectively. Haley & Aldrich, BSC Group and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin also joined the development efforts.

READ ALSO: Will Developers Build Out of a Tumultuous Cycle…Again?

To make way for 101 Smith Place, Erland demolished two buildings and a metal garage. Following the flattening of the existing technical office structures, construction began in 2021. Two years later, in 2023, the crew topped out the life science project.

In the spring of 2025, Davis plans to break ground on The Quad’s third and final phase—15 Wilson Road, a 280,000-square-foot life science project.

Probing the life science facility

The three-story building encompasses 60,000-square-foot floorplates with a live load of 100 pounds per square foot. The column bay spacing measures 21 feet on center, with 53 feet between the exterior and building core, while the floor-to-floor heights range between 15 to 18 feet.

Additional features include one PH neutralization room, two elevated loading docks, covered bays, one freight elevator with a 5,000-pound capacity, as well as a 16,821-square-foot mechanic penthouse equipped with a central chiller and hot water plant sporting AHU and lab exhaust.

Utilizing sustainable furniture, EV charging stations and MERV 14 filters with green cleaning policies in place, 101 Smith Place attained LEED Gold, WiredScore Gold and Fitwel certifications. Amenities include a gym, lounge areas, green spaces, bike parking, as well as 154 vehicle-parking spaces.

Samsung SDI, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, inked a 10-year, 13,604-square-foot lease for a purpose-built space on the facility’s third floor. The suite’s build-out is expected to reach completion this December.

CBRE Vice Chairman Eric Smith and Senior Vice President McKenna Teague, as well as Vice President Tess Chandler and Associate Jack Scribner, represented the landlord in the lease proceedings. Montivista Real Estate Investment Vice President Ruyi Cai led the leasing negotiations on behalf of the tenant.

The facility is located roughly 1 mile from downtown Cambridge, while Boston’s city center is some 10 miles southeast. Interstate 95’s junction with Massachusetts Route 2 is more than 8 miles northwest. Several bus stops, retail options and quick-service restaurants are within walking distance.

Boston’s office scene

As of May, metro Boston’s office supply pipeline counted upward of 13.6 million square feet of under-construction space—representing 5.4 percent of stock—and topping the national charts, followed by San Francisco (5.1 million square feet) and Dallas (4.8 million square feet), according to a recent CommercialEdge report.

With life science space in high demand, Boston’s office vacancy rate rested at 12.1 percent in May, several hundred basis points below the national average of 17.8 percent during the same period. However, the metro’s vacancy rate saw a significant 180 basis points increase year-over-year through May, as opposed to the country’s moderate 80 basis points vacancy growth during the same interval, the report shows.

Boston’s average asking office rent witnessed a 10.8 percent spike year-over-year during the same period, marking the largest growth in the markets tracked by CommercialEdge, surpassing Dallas (6.6 percent) and Miami (6.2 percent), the report indicated.

Some of this year’s new developments in Boston include US2’s 10 Prospect St., a 205,000-square-foot life science facility in Somerville, Mass., and Andover Technology Park’s 250,000-square-foot first phase.

The latter was built by a joint venture between Celera Properties and True North Management Group, which redeveloped the properties at 300 and 600 Federal St. in Andover, Mass.

The post Davis Cos., Invesco Deliver New Phase of Life Science Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The Rainier Cos. has sold Colony Place, a 393,566-square-foot Class A regional shopping center in Plymouth, Mass., for $86 million.

DLC Management Corp. acquired the retail center with the help of a $57.9 million loan from Guggenheim Partners, according to public records.

Rainier acquired the two major retail components of the Colony Place mixed-use campus from Saxon Partners back in January 2020. Fortress Investment Group provided financing totaling $72.5 million for the acquisition, CommercialEdge data shows.

READ ALSO: How Retail Properties Are Getting Greener

The acquired retail components consist of The Plaza—a 230,497-square-foot power center—and The Village—a 188,473-square-foot lifestyle center. Over the past four years, the management team enhanced the tenant list, boosted occupancy rates and sold several individual parcels.

Anchored by Aldi and shadow-anchored by Walmart Supercenter, Colony Place has a diverse mix of national and regional tenants including Olive Garden, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Burlington, Michaels, TJ Maxx, Bath & Body Works, Ulta Beauty, Five Below, Game Stop and Starbucks, among others.

Boston’s retail scene

Located at 100 and 200 Colony Place, the shopping center is within Boston’s Plymouth County submarket. The property is close to the confluence of Route 3 and Route 44, the main junction which links Boston to southern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.

Boston’s robust consumer spending and limited supply of new space keeps the retail real estate market strong, according to a recent Marcus & Millichap report. With vacancy rates dropping below 3 percent for the first time in over five years, the average asking rent is expected to rise to $21.85 per square foot, according to the same source.

The post Boston-Area Shopping Center Commands $86M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The site comprises a 515,000-square-foot office and manufacturing facility that Tishman Speyer and Mitsui Fudosan America intend to transform.

They want to redevelop the 40+ year-old site into a fully modernized industrial park with four warehouse buildings totaling approximately 700,000 square feet.

The Boston region’s 128 North submarket has extremely limited supply and a lack of developable land—not to mention higher-quality properties.

The Tishman-Mitsui plan

Tishman Speyer and Mitsui Fudosan America plan to develop four buildings ranging in size from 130,000 to 260,000 square feet.

Plans also include 700 parking spaces, 90 trailer storage stalls, and robust power.

This marks the third acquisition via the Tishman Speyer-Mitsui Fudosan America Logistics Venture, which was originally seeded by a $500 million commitment from MFA along with co-investment capital from Tishman Speyer.

In January, the partnership acquired a 32-acre development site in Irvine, Calif., with plans to develop another four industrial buildings. This followed the August 2023 purchase of a last-mile warehouse and distribution facility in San Francisco’s India Basin submarket.

Land-constrained markets are likely to fair better than those where overbuilding could lead to an over-supply, driving down lease rates, according to Damon Juha, partner & Real Estate Practice vice chair at Saul Ewing.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Emerging Industrial Markets in 2024

He told CPE, “Adding logistics centers in supply-constrained markets is not for the faint of heart, and there are only so many companies that can afford these facilities.”

Great location

Frank Petkunas, executive vice president & partner, Northeast Region, CRG, told Commercial Property Executive that the Northeast has become a more popular location for logistics because a lot of the big companies started to realize they could hit a majority of the Canadian population—Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal are all within a one-day drive—as well as serving the Boston market from within the triangular area of Boston, Hartford, Conn., and Providence, R.I.

Petkunas said there’s also been a shift in the power channel: first the manufacturers had power, then the retailers, then the e-commerce companies, and now the consumer.

“Consumers have so much choice; they can change brand loyalty in an instant,” he said. “The warehouses are there to make the consumers as happy as possible. Transportation costs and proximity to transit infrastructure and labor all matter, but population proximity is now the most important. Companies want to be near MSAs.”

Barriers to entry can be a challenge

Terry Lynch, SIOR, vice president, DarwinPW Realty/CORFAC International, told CPE that supply-constrained markets typically have additional barriers of entry.

“Lack of available land translates to identifying in-fill sites which tend to require additional capital for environmental clean-up along with extensive site work,” Lynch said.

“When these sites are located within city limits in major metropolitan areas, the lead time for the entitlement process can be extensive. Even if a site has appropriate underlying zoning, some municipalities require traffic studies, environmental impact studies, and numerous community meetings, which can result in ‘we don’t want semi-trucks in our neighborhood.’ These sites have access to population density that logistic companies desire, but local government officials lean on their constituents as they are the voting block that keep them in office.”

Everyone wants their Amazon delivery within a day, but no one wants the infrastructure that entails, according to Alex Olshansky, head of Investments at Zenith IOS.

He told CPE recent legislative efforts to curtail industrial development in New York City underscore the value of existing, well-located logistics properties.

The post Tishman Speyer JV to Redevelop Suburban Boston Property appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Foundation, which is a subsidiary of multinational pharmaceutical company Roche, is consolidating its 1,100 Massachusetts employees into the new 16-story building, from four separate locations. The deal it inked in 2019 marked the largest life science lease in Boston in more than a decade, since Vertex took 1.1 million square feet at Fan Pier in 2011.

The slowing demand for such space in Greater Boston was reportedly a factor in WS Development delaying development of a 420,000-square-foot building next door to 400 Summer that wasn’t preleased. The company’s business model is not only to build the properties, but also to own and lease them after completion, in contrast to a merchant developer’s model.

The goal of Seaport is the redevelopment of 33 acres on the waterfront to a mix of residential and commercial uses, along with civic, cultural and green spaces.

READ ALSO: Top Projects That Will Reshape Boston

Most of the space at 400 Summer St., about 600,000 square feet, will be office space and labs, but a 30,000-square-foot component will be neighborhood retail. The building is across the street from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

The building has been certified LEED platinum, the highest level, and is the third building in the Seaport district to earn the certification. The 400 Summer St. development also included the creation of a pedestrian and bicycle corridor next to the building, which forms a connector between Summer Street and Congress Street, called the Summer Street Steps. Suffolk Construction built the structure, with Morris Adjmi Architects as the designer.

As lab space hub, Boston’s activity has slowed

Lab space users in Greater Boston remain cautious about making any kind of move, which has resulted in negative absorption for some submarkets for the property type, including the city itself, which saw 69,000 square feet of negative absorption during the first quarter of 2024, according to CBRE. Cambridge suffered 349,000 square feet of negative absorption during the same quarter, but these totals were partly balanced by suburban submarkets that attracted new tenants.

The vacancy rate for lab space in Greater Boston came in at 13.7 percent in the first quarter of 2024, a rise from less than 4 percent a year earlier, and nearly zero two years ago.

The first quarter of 2024 saw over 2 million square feet of new product deliver, but 65 percent of those completions were conversions, CBRE found. Of the 717,000 square feet of ground-up projects that delivered in the first quarter, 65 percent of the space was already preleased. That includes space that Eli Lilly is taking at 15 Necco Street, also on the Boston waterfront, to operate the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine, which will use promising RNA- and DNA-based tech to develop therapies.

The post WS Development Opens Lab Building in Boston’s Seaport appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Persimmon Technologies, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, has signed a 142,224-square-foot, long-term lease with W. P. Carey in Bedford, Mass. Newmark represented the owner, while Colliers negotiated on behalf of the tenant.

The tech firm will relocate its headquarters to 35 Crosby Drive, a flex office property currently being redeveloped into an R&D facility. Revamp completion is expected in late 2025.

Persimmon specializes in vacuum robotics for semiconductor, LED and flat panel display monitors, as well as electric motors. The firm is currently headquartered at a 1983-built property in Wakefield, Mass., and will use the newly leased space for various purposes including offices, manufacturing, testing and R&D.

READ ALSO: Dos and Don’ts for Life Science Conversions

Prior to the repositioning efforts, the building at 35 Crosby Drive had 207,000 square feet of space across three stories. The property featured four tailboard-high loading docks, two backup generators and 640 parking spaces. Amenities included an auditorium, cafeteria and gym.

Redevelopment plans now call for the property’s conversion to a 160,000-square-foot life science facility with a 573-space parking structure.

Located on more than 20 acres within the Route 128 Tech Corridor, 35 Crosby Drive is less than 1 mile of U.S. Route 3 and roughly 5 miles northeast of Logan Airport, as well as some 20 miles northwest of downtown Boston.

Newmark Executive Managing Directors Richard Ruggiero, Torin Taylor and Matthew Adams, together with Senior Managing Director Rory Walsh, represented W. P. Carey in the lease negotiations.  

Boston’s office scene

Metro Boston boasted an impressive 13.8 million square feet of under-construction office space as of April, according to a CommercialEdge report. Representing 5.6 percent of total stock, The City on a Hill’s pipeline bucked the national average of 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the metro’s vacancy rate was up by 230 basis points year-over-year as of April, reaching 12.4 percent, still way below the national average of 18.8 percent. However, the office listing rate grew by 9.8 percent over the year.

The post Sumitomo Subsidiary Inks 142 KSF Boston Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Signs are pointing to a resurgence, and there are reasons to be optimistic about improving conditions, said Travis McCready, head of life sciences for the Americas with JLL, in a prepared statement. McCready emphasized company creation throughout 2023 despite significant headwinds. He noted venture capital firms have record funding waiting deployment and big pharma has substantial resources aiming for acquisitions. There’s also an upcoming patent cliff that will help drive activity.

The JLL paper pinpoints five key trends for lab space, including growing national demand, how quality in top markets is driving leasing successes and how the supply-to-demand ratio is gradually beginning to normalize in most major cities. Other top observations include the fact that lease terms are shrinking in an occupier-favorable environment, and that newly added vacancies are expected to fall after 2024.

While there are good rebound indicators, the main hurdle is dealing with current oversupply, virtually everywhere. The sector saw a dramatic shift in the macro environment combined with a glut of new supply arriving while the market cooled, leading to a downcycle. Data shows the sector is on the right path to achieving equilibrium, though.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

Newly added vacancies are set to fall quickly after 2024, but the sector must first absorb all the new space that came online after 2021. A little more than 13 million square feet of vacant space came online in the U.S. lab market in 2022 and 2023 alone. This year, more than 15 million square feet of new vacant space could be delivered unless demand materially changes before the year ends.

However, the numbers drop considerably after 2024. Currently, only 4.7 million square feet of lab space underway has the potential to deliver vacant from 2025 into 2027, according to JLL. The report also notes that a respite in new supply will give the market some breathing room for improved absorption. Total supply at the end of 2024 could be more than 65 million square feet, with aggregate demand at only 11.5 million square feet.

Hot markets, shorter leases

The usual suspects continue to see strong activity: Boston, San Diego and the Bay Area. The Bay Area alone jumped from less than 2 million square feet of demand at the end of 2023 to 2.7 million square feet in the first quarter. Kevin Wayer, division president for JLL life sciences, stated occupiers in those markets should take advantage of conditions this year because competition for space is likely to heat up once startup capital starts flowing more freely in 2025 and beyond.

READ ALSO: Attracting Life Science Tenants in Core Markets

Wayer also noted demand in the three markets is now on par with 2019 levels. While the aggregate U.S. figure is still 55 percent lower than the 2021 peak, the big three have 6.9 million square feet of demand today. Over the past three quarters, they have seen quarterly growth in demand for lab space averaging 17 percent.

Not surprisingly, the top-tier “core” submarkets have significantly outperformed peers in the three areas. Those top submarkets include UTC and Torrey Pines in San Diego, South San Francisco in the Bay Area and East Cambridge in Boston.

JLL also observed that lease terms are shrinking in an occupier-favorable market. In the second half of the last decade, demand started to outpace supply, giving landlords greater leverage. With supply outpacing demand as of late, tenants are now pushing for shorter lease terms, particularly startups.

The report notes that shorter leases are particularly evident in smaller and midsize deals, which make up the majority of activity now. The average term has decreased by 2 years for middle-market deals and by almost 1.5 years for smaller deals, compared to 2 years ago. Lease terms in the first quarter of 2024 were at an average of 5.1 years.

The post Life Science Prospects Are Looking Up: JLL appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Nuveen Real Estate has appointed Cushman & Wakefield as property manager for One Boston Place and 501 Boylston St., totaling some 1.4 million square feet of office space in Boston.

As part of the deal, the brokerage firm hired 16 incumbent agents from the buildings’ management team led by Senior Managing Director Bruce Clifford and Associate Director James Russell.

The company also extended Cushman & Wakefield’s contract to deliver property management services for both 99 High St. and the Fort Point Portfolio, which together encompass more than 1 million square feet. The firm was hired in 2021 to provide its services for these properties.

Two renovated office buildings

Dating back to 1970, One Boston Place is a 41-story tower in downtown Boston. The property went through cosmetic renovations in 2002 and 2005. Located at 201 Washington St., the LEED Gold-certified high-rise features a café, 6,000 square feet of retail space, 18 passenger elevators and floorplates averaging almost 21,000 square feet.

Nuveen acquired the 805,588-square-foot asset in December 2002 for $259 million—or $321.5 per square foot—from Blackstone Group, according to CommercialEdge data. Tenants of the skyscraper include Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Crossharbor Capital Partners and TM Capital.

The 610,000-square-foot 501 Boylston St. rises 10 stories less than 2 miles from One Boston Place. The building is also within 3 miles from 290 Binney St., a life science project where BXP recently sold a 45 percent interest to Norges Bank Investment Management.

Built in 1940, the building went through a complete makeover in 2008. The property features 62,672-square-foot average floorplates, 12 passenger elevators and some 140,000 square feet of retail space. The LEED Gold-certified property’s roster includes Lego, Burson-Marsteller and PureTech.

Nuveen purchased the asset in 2007 for $370.5 million from Broadway Partners, the same source shows. In April 2016, the owner took out a $216.5 million loan held by Northwestern Mutual. Two years later, Norges Bank Investment Management acquired a 49.9 percent stake in the property for $290.9 million.

Recent office deals in Boston

As of February, Boston held the nation’s largest office development pipeline, with 14.5 million square feet underway, the latest CommercialEdge office report shows. More than two thirds of this space had life sciences as its main use type. The metro’s vacancy rate clocked in at 12.2 percent, marking a 240 basis-point year-over-year increase, but still below the 17.9 percent national average. At that point in time, Boston’s average listing rate stood at $45.6.

In March, an affiliate of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. signed a 10-year lease extension at 75/125 Binney St. for 222,925 square feet. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. owns the two-building life science property.

A month earlier, BPGbio committed to 70,000 square feet at Lincoln Property Co. and a MetLife Investment Management client’s 300 Third Ave. The company will relocate its headquarters to the 143,533-square-foot building by June next year.

The post Cushman & Wakefield to Manage 1.4 MSF Boston Office Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

In Cambridge, Mass., an established life science cluster and innovation hub, one project stands out for blurring the lines between office and laboratory space. Built three decades ago, One Charles Park recently got a new life after a thorough renovation that transformed it into a modern research complex.

Featuring more than 400,000 square feet of flexible suites spanning six floors, the redevelopment prioritizes interconnectivity through human-centric design, reflecting the broader trend of integrating business and science spaces in the increasingly public-facing life science industry. Glass partition walls between labs and offices break down traditional barriers, fostering transparency and facilitating knowledge-sharing among scientists, operations and administrative teams.

SGA is the architecture and design firm behind this adaptive-reuse project, so we asked Senior Associate & Director of Interior Design Caroline Bergin to reveal details about the challenges of converting an office building into an all-encompassing lab space that caters to the specific needs of life science tenants.

SGA designed the One Charles Park project to be adaptable and quick in response to market trends. What are the features that make it so flexible?

Bergin: One Charles Park presents occupants with a flexible laboratory infrastructure that offers tenants a ‘plug-and-play’ approach. The plan is laid out with support rooms clustered along the core which leaves many of the window lines open for natural daylight to filter throughout the open lab. The floorplate was also configured to allow a multi-tenant scenario for both office and lab on each floor.

Throughout the open labs, ceiling utility panels have been strategically placed to provide power, data and gas connections to the lab benches. Moveable casework enables customization and durability while maximizing space utilization to support unique and evolving research processes. The floorplan provides improved lab expansion capabilities to densify benches and the opportunity to break down the space with additional enclosed support rooms as each tenant grows and expands.

Tenant exhaust shafts have been strategically positioned throughout the building’s large floorplates within close proximity to laboratory spaces to provide day one infrastructure support. Additional shaft space was incorporated to ensure One Charles Park can accommodate future services and equipment. Additionally, two service elevators in the building provide efficient loading and receiving capabilities for each tenant.

READ ALSO: Attracting Life Science Tenants in Core Markets

How does the non-lab space look like?

Bergin: Outside of the lab, adaptability is ingrained to respond to evolving business needs. Focus and huddle rooms were designed to be reconfigured into private offices for future needs. Conference rooms have been strategically placed throughout to accommodate future subdivision in multi-tenant scenarios. One Charles Park has been pre-programmed to accommodate additional building-wide amenities and communal space to remain competitive with tenant requirements in an ever-evolving market.

What type of materials and finishes did you use for One Charles Park?

Bergin: In the office and amenity areas, materials and finishes vary from floor-to-floor in response to differing brand identities and tenant needs. Hard and soft materials reflect the culture and core values of each company’s DNA. In the laboratories, clean lines and neutral elements keep the focus on the science. Prioritizing durable, easily maintained finishes in these science-driven spaces ensures operational efficiency within each suite.

Tell us more about the challenges you faced with this redevelopment project. What solutions did you find?

Bergin: As typical with lab-ready-repositionings and the intricacies of an older office building, One Charles Park presented shorter floor-to-floor heights, and column grids were tighter than what we would typically prefer or prescribe in a new construction scenario. For a new lab, we would work off a 33-feet column grid and 15-feet and six-inch floor-to-floor heights to accommodate standard laboratory bay space planning with typical 11-foot modules. One Charles Park presented atypical 30 by 35 feet and 30 by 30 feet column grids, with 13 feet and one inch floor-to-floor heights.

Several areas of the building also required existing columns to be reinforced with steel plates and notched to increase ceiling height. These steel plates also enhanced the structure’s ability to manage increased vibrational and weight loads from laboratory equipment and supporting infrastructure.

Converting an office building to laboratories typically requires at least a 40 percent increase in mechanical and services infrastructure. The ceiling heights presented a challenge to coordinating crucial mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Focused on achieving the optimal ceiling heights, SGA and the construction manager led clash detection meetings with each trade to thoughtfully minimize mechanical overlaps and maximize ceiling heights. Reducing the required plenum by running these systems in parallel, not over and under one another, creates a more streamlined distribution of services.

Are there any areas designed for socialization and moments of respite? What are the market trends in this direction?

Bergin: One Charles Park delivers a wide variety of spaces for socialization and moments of respite. Creating distinct destinations within each tenant space to draw both laboratory users and their coworkers to central locations to promote impromptu interactions. While on the surface these considerations may seem focused on improving the human experience, their ability to enhance productivity and innovation are undeniable and mark larger shifts throughout the workplace landscape now taking hold in laboratory environments.

The building’s unique existing conditions include several wraparound terraces offering views of the Charles River and the Cambridge skyline. In several areas, collaboration space was programmed around the balconies to improve ease of access for all occupants. In other areas, cafe, conference and huddle uses are pushed to the interior, ensuring that the productivity benefits of natural daylight are prioritized in the laboratories and offices.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

How has the location impacted the project overall?

Bergin: Location is everything. Cambridge, Mass., continues to be the leading research cluster in the world. One Charles Park is one block from the Charles River and another block from Binney Street, home to multinational biotech and technology companies. The location leverages Cambridge as a destination for both established and emerging companies looking to co-locate with other leaders in the space.

Incorporating hospitality-inspired amenities in office properties is a growing trend. Is it penetrating life science design? Are we going to see more hospitality-inspired elements in life sciences projects going forward?

Bergin: Yes, SGA’s Workplace Amenities Report highlights the multigenerational, cross-industry trends in broader workplace design that represent a marked shift toward the destination workplace where hospitality-inspired design elements and finishes create a corporate experience that connects and engages. As an example, SGA designed Forum, Boston’s premier net zero laboratory building developed by Lendlease and Ivanhoe Cambridge, to offer a luxurious ground-floor community living-room amidst an indoor-outdoor setting, ensuring an exclusive tenant experience reminiscent of a high-end hotel.

So, what’s next for life science design?

Bergin: Currently, we’re focused on climate-conscious design and how the sustainable developments we deliver help communities navigate a changing environment. It has become increasingly important for the built environment to anticipate and prepare for a new normal. We’re designing for tomorrow by reducing a building’s impact on the environment and reducing the environment’s impact on the building.

We’re also particularly focused on the use of mass timber for life sciences. We have proven the material is structurally viable in R&D facilities through a 2023 study and report. With sustainability, resiliency and construction efficiency at the forefront of our aspirations, we have proved mass timber can enable world class research while prioritizing the human experience.

Finally, as the building code continues to evolve, we believe high-rise laboratories such as the 11th Avenue BioTech Tower and The Vertical Cluster in New York City will emerge in dense urban areas, serving as the model for future life sciences development.

The post Designing Tomorrow’s Labs: Spotlight on Boston’s One Charles Park appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

BXP has completed the sale of a 45 percent interest in 290 Binney St., a life science development in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., to Norges Bank Investment Management.

NBIM’s investment reportedly will reduce BXP’s share of the project’s estimated development cost over time by about $533.5 million.

290 Binney St. is a 16-story, 570,000-square-foot laboratory/life science property that’s currently under construction and 100 percent preleased to AstraZeneca. Initial occupancy is expected in April 2026.

The consummation of this joint venture, according to BXP, completes NBIM’s two-building investment in Cambridge with a gross valuation of about $1.66 billion or $2,050 per square foot. The two properties, 290 Binney St. and 300 Binney St., total 810,000 square feet and are each fully preleased.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

BXP is retaining a 55 percent interest in the joint ventures and also provides development, property management and leasing services for them. NBIM funded about $212.9 million at closing for its investment in 300 Binney St. in late 2023.

BXP first announced its intention to sell a 45 percent share in the project last November.

BXP Life Sciences’ portfolio totals about 3.9 million square feet, primarily in such life science hubs as metro Boston; Montgomery County, Md.; South San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Boston’s softening life science market

Metro Boston’s life science market entered the year “with record amounts of available lab space on both the secondary and direct markets,” according to a winter/spring 2024 report from Cresa.

Product deliveries have swollen the region’s inventory by 32 percent, year-over-year, with most of that space in the inner suburbs and Route 128 west submarkets. In all, there’s about 12 million square feet of lab space under development, about one-third of which is expected to deliver this year.

“With demand down and supply up, pricing pressure has eased significantly, dropping by nearly 8 percent year-over-year across the market and by nearly 12 percent in Cambridge alone,” Cresa reports. “It is, without question, a tenant’s market through and through.”

In January, a joint venture of BXP and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives signed a 115,382-square-foot lease with DoorDash at 200 Fifth Ave., in Manhattan. The tenant thus doubled its space at the building, after its move in March 2023. Cushman & Wakefield represented both parties to the lease.

The post BXP Closes Sale of Minority Interest in Life Science Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Boston’s office market has continued to perform well in terms of development throughout 2023, according to CommercialEdge data. The metro boasted a robust pipeline as of January, mainly fueled by life science properties, which represented more than 75 percent of the under-construction office space within the market.

In terms of last year’s transaction activity, Boston was on par with other gateway markets, although investment volume amounted to only a third of the metro’s total in 2022. Consequently, prices also dropped, but Boston remained the second most expensive market nationwide, only surpassed by Manhattan.

Life sciences bolster Boston office development

As of January, Boston had nearly 15 million square feet of office space under construction, accounting for 5.2 percent of total stock—considerably outpacing the national rate of 1.6 percent. Its pipeline was only surpassed by Seattle (5.5 percent), as it outperformed other gateway markets including Miami (4.7 percent), San Francisco (3.7 percent) and Manhattan (1.4 percent). A total of 50 properties were underway in Boston’s office market, of which 38 represent life science buildings encompassing more than 11 million square feet.

One of the largest properties currently underway is WS Development’s One Boston Wharf, a 707,000-square-foot office project that Amazon fully preleased. In July, the developer topped out the 17-story tower that is set to become the city’s largest net-zero carbon office building, with expected completion later this year.

Throughout 2023, construction started on 11 properties totaling some 3.5 million square feet and accounting for 1.2 percent of total stock. Although more than double the national rate of 0.5 percent of stock, the figure represents a considerable decrease from the previous year, when 7 million square feet of office space broke ground across 28 developments.

One of the largest projects to break ground recently is Tishman Speyer and Harvard University’s Enterprise Research Campus, a mixed-use life science development. Backed by a $750 million construction loan from Otera Capital, the property’s first phase will include two laboratory buildings, along with a rental community and a hotel.

In January 2024, two projects came online in Boston’s office market totaling more than 478,000 square feet. In 2023, developers brought 5.8 million square feet online across 17 properties, accounting for 2 percent of stock. Regarding sheer delivered volume, the metro came in second only to Manhattan (6.3 million square feet) and outpaced other peers including Washington, D.C. (4.1 million square feet) and Seattle (2.9 million square feet).

One of the largest properties to recently come online is 10 Prospect St., a 205,000-square-foot life science building developed by US2 and Magellan Development Group, along with other capital partners. It represents the first phase of USQ, a $2 billion master-plan built across 17 acres in Sommerville, Mass.

Investment activity drops

Throughout 2023, more than 6.1 million square feet changed hands across 55 properties in Boston’s office market, for a total investment volume of nearly $1.9 billion, only surpassed by Manhattan ($2.4 billion) and Washington, D.C. ($2 billion) among its peer markets. Investments registered a significant drop from the previous year, when almost 12.5 million square feet traded for more than triple the volume at $6 billion. In January 2024, two properties have sold for a total of $15 million.

The metro’s average price per square foot was $346.8 in 2023—considerably above the $192 national average and representing a 38.4 percent decrease from the previous year. It only lagged Manhattan’s whopping $833.9, while surpassing San Francisco ($314.7), Miami ($330.9), Seattle ($259) and Washington, D.C. ($209).

One of the largest transactions recorded in 2023 was Alloy Properties’ $365 million acquisition of a five-property life science portfolio. Alexandria Real Estate Equities sold the assets located in Cambridge, Mass., and Waltham, Mass., for an average sale price of $852 per rentable square foot. The buildings total 425,000 square feet.

Recently, J. Safra Real Estate announced plans to acquire Faneuil Hall Marketplace, a historic retail and office building in Boston’s downtown. The current owner, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., purchased a 63-year ground lease for the property in 2011 in a deal valued at $140 million which involved the assumption of a $98 million CMBS loan.

Coworking on par with national rates

As of January, there were nearly 4.5 million square feet of coworking space in the Boston’s office market, accounting for 1.7 percent of stock, on par with the national share. Among gateway markets, the metro’s proportion of flexible office space only surpassed that of Washington, D.C. (1.6 percent), while lagging others including Los Angeles (2.1 percent), Manhattan (2.5 percent) and Miami (3.7 percent).

The largest flexible office provider in Boston is WeWork with a footprint of 780,770 square feet across nine properties, followed by Regus, which operates 560,391 square feet in 31 locations. Another key player in the market is Workbar which has 11 properties totaling 201,850 square feet.

One of the largest leasing deals in Boston over the past year was health-care and pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk committing to a long-term lease for a full 165,940-square-foot building at 60 Sylvan Road. Owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, the property is currently under redevelopment and expecting completion in 2025.

Recently, Millennium Partners secured a 39,000-square-foot lease agreement at Winthrop Center, a mixed-use development spanning 1.8 million square feet. Tenant M&T Bank plans to move in this fall.

The post Boston’s Office Market Among the Most Active in 2023 appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Comprising two buildings, 75/125 Binney Street has been designed as one development. A five-story atrium connects the assets and features a café, bridges, terraces and gardens. In 2019, Alexandria monetized the property by selling a 60 percent partial interest to an institutional investor for $438 million.

125 Binney St. is a Class A building that was completed in 2015. Totaling 194,414 square feet, the five-story asset includes 2,200 square feet of retail space, CommercialEdge data shows. The LEED Gold-certified property includes 115,328 square feet of lab space. Takeda is its sole tenant.

Completed in 2014, 75 Binney St. totals 144,668 square feet, the same source indicates. The five-story asset features 2,348 square feet of retail space and 86,800 square feet of lab space. IBM also leases space in 75 Binney St., according to CommercialEdge data.

The property also includes a 400-car, below-ground parking garage. Together, the 75/125 Binney St. buildings take up one full city block.

READ ALSO: Attracting Life Science Tenants in Core Markets

Downtown Boston is less than 3 miles from the buildings, which are situated at the epicenter of Cambridge’s Kendall Square. The area is known as “the most innovative square mile on the planet,” thanks to a dense concentration of cutting-edge life science companies, renowned universities and research institutions. The life science hub is also home to some of the top life science talent in the nation, influenced by nearby institutions including Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Takeda will continue to house its scientific research and equipment in the buildings through March 31, 2040.

Alexandria’s Greater Boston presence

As of the end of last year, Alexandria’s national portfolio included 73.5 million square feet. In the Cambridge submarket, the company’s footprint totals more than 5.4 million square feet across three campuses: Alexandria Technology Square, the Alexandria Center at One Kendall Square and the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square.

Late last year, the company landed a long-term lease at 60 Sylvan Road, another life science asset in Greater Boston. A global health-care and pharmaceutical company signed an agreement to occupy 165,940 square feet in the building, situated in the metro’s Route 128 submarket.

Also last year, Alexandria transferred a partial interest in a life science project in Boston that, at the time, marked the largest single-building transaction of its kind in the U.S. in 2023. The funds from the deal were set to be used for the development of another 345,995-square-foot Class A project.

The post Alexandria Secures 223 KSF Life Science Lease Extension appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

ADA Forsyth Institute, a national leader in dentistry and biological research in oral health, signed the lease in the purpose-built building.

Completed in 2023, 100 Chestnut is the first life science facility to be developed within NRL’s three-building mixed-use campus. It includes 6,441 square feet of retail space and 218 parking spaces, CommercialEdge data shows. In 2022, Affinius Capital originated a $192.5 million construction loan for the project.

Designed by Gensler, 100 Chestnut features 60,000-square-foot flexible floorplates and column-free zones. The LEED-Platinum certified asset is less than half of a mile from Cambridge’s Kendall Square and Cambridge Crossing. Downtown Boston is within 4 miles. The East Somerville T Station is connected to the site via walking paths and the Green Line extension is property-adjacent.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

Other tenants of the flagship property include Ultragenyx with a 42,500-square-foot lease, Charles River Accelerator and Development Lab with a 16,000-square-foot lease and an incubator platform set to occupy 42,000 square feet.

The larger Brickbottom District project, upon completion, is set to include dining options, cafes, green spaces and walking and biking paths.

Life science hubs in Boston

The Boston area has become an epicenter for life science activity. Through the first 10 months of 2023, strong life science fundamentals were enough to bolster the metro’s development pipeline. Now the area is continuing to see leasing and development activity, as more companies look to relocate or expand their footprint in the market.

Also this month, Lincoln Property Co. and a MetLife Investment Management client landed a 70,000-square-foot lease at a life science building in Waltham, Mass. A biology-first AI powered biopharma company is set to establish its headquarters in the building, which totals 143,533 square feet.

In January, a 250,000-square-foot development was completed in Andover, Mass. The technology park is being completed in phases and, upon completion, will become part of Andover’s 3 million-square-foot life science presence.

The post North River Leerink Inks 76 KSF Life Science Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Lincoln Property Co., together with a MetLife Investment Management client, has landed a 70,000-square-foot lease at a life science building in Waltham, Mass. BPGbio, a biology-first AI-powered biopharma company, plans to relocate its headquarters from Framingham, Mass., to 300 Third Ave. by June 2025. Cresa Boston negotiated on behalf of the tenant, while the ownership was self-represented.

Lincoln broke ground on the speculative project in 2020, financing its construction with a $60 million loan from Bank OZK, according to CommercialEdge information. The five-story building came online in 2022.

Totaling 143,533 square feet, 300 Third is a LEED Gold- and WiredScore-certified facility designed by DiMella Shaffer. It features four stories of lab space with 35,000-square-foot floorplates, alongside a fitness center, café, roof deck and 441 parking spots.

READ ALSO: Attracting Life Science Tenants in Core Markets

BPGbio will occupy two full floors at the life science facility. The company will house its more than 100,000 sample biobank in the asset and plans to utilize the space to increase its development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Other tenants include biotech company Biocytogen and Stoughton Electrical Repair & Installations, the same data shows.

Situated on Route 128, the property offers free shuttle service to Alewife, an MBTA Red Line to Cambridge. Downtown Boston is approximately 14 miles east, while the city center is 3 miles away.

Lincoln’s Tim Latham, Christopher Scott and Chris Devaux assisted the owners in the deal. Cresa’s Paul Delaney, Adam Subber, and Nate Heilbron represented BPGbio.

Boston’s strong life science fundamentals

The life science market in Boston proved strong enough to bolster the metro’s overall office market last year. According to a Cushman & Wakefield report, employment in life sciences has grown some 35 percent in the last five years with increased growth anticipated through 2028. By the end of this year, 12 million square feet of space are expected to hit the market.

As companies flock to this life science hub, Boston transactions have already been plentiful this year. The first phase of a 250,000-square-foot technology park was completed last month in Andover, Mass. The redevelopment project involves the repurposing of two office buildings into a life science complex.

Also in January, a 205,000-square-foot life science building came online in Somerville, Mass. The seven-story facility comprises 60 percent lab space and 40 percent office space.

The post Lincoln Property, MetLife Land 70 KSF Boston Lease appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Crosspoint has purchased Brookside Shops, a 75,529-square-foot shopping center in Acton, Mass., for $21 million. Clarion Partners sold the asset, according to CommercialEdge data.

Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, brokered the transaction; Senior Managing Director Jim Koury represented the seller and procured the buyer.

Clarion had acquired the neighborhood center back in 2017 for $33.5 million, the same source shows. TH Real Estate was the seller and Newmark brokered the deal.

Brookside Shops came online in 2002 on a 10-acre site. Anchored by Trader Joe’s, the retail center has a diverse mix of national and regional tenants such as Staples, LOFT, X-Golf, Talbots, Laser MD Medspa, KJ’s Caffé, J. Jill and Chico’s. The property was 87 percent leased at the time of sale.

Located at 145 Great Road, the Greater Boston shopping center is in a wealthy suburb, where the average household income within a 10-mile radius is more than $210,000, according to IPA. Downtown Boston is some 24 miles away.

Due to the metro’s robust fundamentals, the investors keep acquiring new properties across the Greater Boston area, according to a recent Marcus & Millichap report. During the first three quarters of last year, buyers showed major interest in properties occupied by national tenants along major state routes.

The post Clarion Partners Sells Boston-Area Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

JLL Capital Markets secured the three-year loan through BMO Harris Bank, with President of Capital Markets Jody Thornton, Senior Managing Director Brett Paulsrud, Director Ryan Parker and Analyst Ari Bogen working on behalf of the borrower.

Portman Industrial purchased the 146-acre site back in 2021 from Thibeault Development for $75 million, according to public records.

READ ALSO: Extra-Large Warehouse Leasing Slows Down

Silver City Business Park’s first phase will comprise a 248,435-square-foot building. Plans call for more than 38 dock positions with two drive-in doors, 32-foot clear heights, over 270 parking spaces, 29 trailer drops, 3,000 amps of power capacity and ESFR fire suppression.

Located at the intersection of Route 24 and Route 140, Silver City Business Park is in the heart of the Southern Massachusetts industrial park cluster. Its location provides easy access to all Greater Boston’s major highway systems and population centers. According to a recent JLL report, more than 6.1 million square feet of industrial space were reported as under construction in the Greater Boston area in the fourth quarter of 2023.

A master-planned industrial park

Silver City Business Park will rise on the site of the former Silver City Galleria, a super-regional shopping mall that closed in 2020. After 29 years of operations, the mall was demolished in 2021 due to a sharp decline in traffic and financial troubles.

The Taunton Planning Board had initially approved a site plan for Fed Ex to build a 560,000-square-foot distribution center and an additional 74,500-square-foot building on the site of the former shopping center. The plan was abandoned and the property was later sold to Portman.

Upon its completion, the speculative industrial park will comprise four separate warehouses of 279,780, 486,720, 241,800 and 74,500 square feet. The three larger warehouses will be 55 feet tall, and the smallest will have a height of 47 feet.

The post Portman Gets $29M for MA Industrial Development appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Ashkenazy closed on the acquisition of the 63-year ground lease for Faneuil Hall Marketplace from General Growth Properties back in 2011. The deal was valued at $140 million, according to Boston Globe. Ashkenazy also assumed the $98 million CMBS loan in the pool Banc of America Commercial Mortgage Trust, CommercialEdge data shows.

The long-term lease arrangement with the City dates back to the mid-1970s. The property is subject to a 99-year unsubordinated net ground lease held by Boston Planning & Development Agency, which will expire in 2074.

READ ALSO: What’s Ahead for Retail in 2024?

City officials have emphasized the need for physical improvements at the property—which were never properly addressed—since Ashkenazy first closed on the deal. Safra, however, has had encouraging discussions with BPDA regarding the series of upgrades the Marketplace needs. These upgrades could cost as much as nearly $45 million, Boston Globe reported.

The mixed-use property comprises Quincy Market, the North Market building and the South Market building, as well as an outbuilding with a Sephora store. More than 200,000 square feet of retail space at Faneuil Hall Marketplace are leased to some 80 tenants including Starbucks, Wagamama, Build-A-Bear, Ben & Jerry’s, Urban Outfitters, Black Label Boston, Coach and Kate Spade, among others.

History of a national landmark

Located on the city’s historic Freedom Trail, the Faneuil Hall Marketplace complex has anchored downtown Boston since 1827. The retail destination received its name from the adjacent Faneuil Hall, which is actually not part of the property.

Built in 1742, Faneuil Hall served as meeting space and permanent central marketplace. Due to Boston’s rapid population growth, in 1826 the Hall was expanded to include Quincy Market, with the construction of the South Market and North Market buildings completed a year later.

In 1976, Mayor Kevin White, Jim Rouse and architect Benjamin Thompson envisioned a remodeling plan for the historic property, plan that was considered an urban renewal success. That same year, nearly 160,000 square feet of the complex were repurposed to office use, according to CommercialEdge.

Due to its history and location in the heart of Boston, Faneuil Hall Marketplace is considered to be one of the city’s top attractions and one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the U.S., receiving millions of visitors annually.

The post J. Safra Real Estate to Buy Historic Boston Landmark appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A joint venture between Wheelock Street Capital and Camber Development has landed $57 million in construction financing for the development of a 237,800-square-foot logistics facility in Wilmington, Mass. JLL Capital Markets worked on behalf of the borrower to secure the three-year loan from a national bank.

The developer acquired the 28-acre site in 2022 for $35.3 million, according to CommercialEdge data. Vertical construction is already underway, while completion is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

READ ALSO: What’s Next for Industrial Real Estate?

Features at the Class A warehouse will include 36-foot clear heights, 47 dock-high loading doors and two drive-in doors, 332 car parking spaces and 33 trailer stalls, along with 32 EV charging stations. Additionally, the property will be one of the first fully electric warehouses in the state, according to the developer.

The facility is rising at 800 Salem St., providing easy access to interstates 93, 495 and 95. The Port of Boston is within 17 miles, while downtown Boston is 18.3 miles southeast. Boston Logan International Airport is some 19 miles away.

The JLL Capital Markets team included Senior Managing Directors Steven Klein and Brett Paulsrud, along with Director Ryan Parker.

A long-term partnership

Wheelock Street Capital and Camber Development started their partnership in 2020, aiming to invest some $500 million into manufacturing, logistics and life science assets in the Greater Boston Area. In 2021, the duo acquired 101 Billerica Ave., a six-building, 450,000-square-foot R&D, office and industrial campus in Billerica, Mass.

The venture also acquired 160 Dascomb Road in Andover, Mass.—a 126,000-square-foot R&D and industrial building that was fully leased at the time of sale. That property last traded in 2019, when an affiliate of NorthBridge Partners purchased it for $26.3 million.

Greater Boston’s industrial pipeline shrinks

According to the latest CommercialEdge industrial report, Greater Boston had an under-construction pipeline of just 2.1 million square feet as of November, or a 0.9 percent expansion of its existing inventory. In line with national trends, the pipeline shrunk from previous years, as the high cost of capital made developers more cautious with spending.

In June, Hines broke ground on a 146,409-square-foot Class A distribution facility in Chelsea, Mass. The development is expected to come online later this year.

The post Wheelock JV Lands $57M for Boston-Area Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Millenium Partners has inked a 39,000-square-foot leasing agreement at Winthrop Center, a 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Boston. The tenant, M&T Bank, is expected to move in this fall.

Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Directors George O’Connor and Thomas Ashe represented the tenant, while CBRE Executive Vice President Timothy Lane and Vice President Charlie Jennings worked on behalf of the landlord.

The $1.4 billion development broke ground in 2018 and came online last year. Cale Street Partners provided a $775 million construction loan in 2020 for the project, according to CommercialEdge data. Partners on the project included general contractor Suffolk and design firm Handel Architects LLP. The LEED Platinum- and Well Gold-certified building is also the largest Passive House office project in the world.

Other tenants at the Class A building comprise Deloitte, which signed a 138,000-square-foot lease in July last year, McKinsey & Co., Cambridge Associates and Income Research and Management.

The mixed-use development, up close

The property includes 812,000 square feet of office space, some 21,000 square feet of retail, 400 residential units and a multi-floor public gathering space. Additionally, there is a 25,000-square-foot amenity area dubbed The Collective, which includes coworking spaces, a 5,000-square-foot fitness center with sports simulator and recovery room, a coffee bar and a game room, as well as a quiet zone and underground parking.

READ ALSO: Top Projects That Will Reshape Boston

Located at 115 Federal St. within the Central Business District, the 691-foot tower is close to a host of dining and retail options, including The Corner Mall and Faneuil Hall Marketplace. General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is 3 miles away. The high-rise is also some 5 miles from Tishman Speyer and Harvard University’s Enterprise Research Campus, a mixed-use life science project that is expected to come online in 2026.

Boston’s steady office sector

According to the latest CommercialEdge office report, the Boston market had a 11.8 percent vacancy rate as of December last year, lower than the national average, but 280 basis points higher than at the same point in 2022. The metro boasted the fourth highest average listing rate in the country, at $47.27, after Manhattan, San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Significant deals from last year include Novo Nordisk’s 165,940-square-foot, long-term lease at Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ life science facility. Other leasing agreements include Astellas Pharma Inc.’s 62,000-square-foot commitment within DivcoWest’s six-building Cambridge Crossing development. The mixed-use project will total some 4.5 million square feet upon full buildout.

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A joint venture between Celera Properties and True North Management Group has completed the first phase of the 250,000-square-foot Andover Technology Park. The redevelopment project involves the repurposing of two buildings within the Woodland Park office campus in Andover, Mass., into a life science and innovation complex. 

Additionally, the partners leased 42,000 square feet of speculative lab spaces to four tenants. The Belgian biologics conglomerate Univercells N.A. was the first firm to secure space at the property in March 2023, planning to use it as its U.S. headquarters. CBRE Executive Vice President Don Domoretsky, alongside Vice President Alex Plaisted and Associate Jack Scribner, spearhead the leasing efforts at the campus.

Revivals and redevelopments

Celera acquired the assets at 300 and 600 Federal St. in 2021 for $28.4 million, according to CommercialEdge information, with the express purpose of converting the properties into a life science campus. The developers also secured $35.3 million from OceanFirst Bank for the campus’ purchase and redevelopment.

Completed in 1996 and 1998, the buildings housed office space used by engineering, software and communications firms. The redevelopment process began in March 2022, with VIVO Arch serving as architect, AHA Consulting Engineering as mechanical engineer and Timberline Construction as general contractor.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

Phase One entailed the core and shell redevelopment of the property at 600 Federal St. Exterior renovations included a new façade, while the building’s interior saw the addition of speculative lab suites, a new lobby connected to an outdoor patio and a fitness center. Additionally, the developers upgraded the building’s power delivery capabilities.  

The second phase of Andover Technology Park is currently underway at 300 Federal Street, a former 120,000-square-foot office building. The redevelopment involves the construction of two 10,000-square-foot lab suites and a shell space. That project is expected to deliver this summer.

When complete, the campus will become part of Andover’s 3 million-square-foot life science cluster, which includes local campuses of Sarepta Therapeutics and Pfizer.

With direct frontage to Interstate 93, the campus is 23 miles north of downtown Boston, while Cambridge’s Kendall Square mega cluster lies 1 mile west across the Charles River.

The office sector’s diamond in the rough

Building lab spaces in Boston’s suburbs has been a mainstay of developers in the area, by way of their ability to attract the city’s top tenants and talent minus the hassles of commuting into Boston or Cambridge.

Recent headlines from suburban Boston’s life science sector include Novo Nordisk’s lease of 165,940 square feet at the Alexandria Center for Life Science – Waltham Campus, as well as the opening of Riverwalk Labs, a 168,000-square-foot campus in Bedford.

This all reflects positively on Boston’s office market overall fundamentals. The metro had the largest pipeline in the nation as of October, according to CommercialEdge research, with 13.7 million square feet underway. Meanwhile, the sales volume reached $1.46 billion over the same period, only surpassed by Manhattan’s $1.71 billion.

The post Celera JV Wraps Up Phase 1 of Boston Life Science Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The building at 10 Prospect St. comprises 60 percent lab space and 40 percent office space. Image courtesy of Gilbane Building Co.

US2, a partnership between Magellan Development Group, RAS Development, Cypress Equity Investments and Affinius Capital, has completed 10 Prospect St., a 205,000-square-foot life science building in Somerville, Mass. Gilbane Building Co. served as general contractor.

US2 broke ground on the project in 2021 and topped out the development in 2022. Construction financing included a $119.2 million loan from Bank OZK, according to CommercialEdge information.

Designed by SGA Architects, the LEED Gold-certified building rises seven stories and comprises 60 percent lab space and 40 percent office space, with a two-story mechanical penthouse supporting the life sciences equipment. The property also includes some 12,000 square feet of retail space along with an amenity space featuring a lounge, outdoor deck and kitchen for events. JLL is leading the leasing efforts.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

The building is part of the first phase of USQ, the $2 billion master-planned development spanning 17 acres. At full build-out, the redevelopment of Union Square will comprise some 1.5 million square feet of lab and office space, 1,000 residential units, a 175-key hotel, more than 140,000 square feet of retail and 4 acres of parks and open spaces.

Located less than 5 miles from downtown Boston, 10 Prospect St. is within walking distance of the Union Square light rail station, providing public transportation across the metro. The property is also roughly 1 mile from Kendall Square.

Life sciences bolster Boston’s office pipeline

Throughout the first 10 months of 2023, 15 office properties came online in Boston, totaling more than 5 million square feet and accounting for 1.8 percent of existing stock, according to recent CommercialEdge research. As of October, the metro had more than 13.7 million square feet of office space under construction across 49 projects, 36 of which being life science developments.

One of the recently completed projects is 250 Arsenal Place, a 255,000-square-foot life science building in Watertown, Mass., that was also designed by SGA and constructed by Gilbane. The LEED Silver-certified property includes research facilities with reverse osmosis skid, central PH neutralization, cold room and 16,000-AMP raceways. Amenities feature a coffee bar, fitness center, golf simulator and shared lobby spaces.

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60 Sylvan Road on the Alexandria Center for Life Science – Waltham mega-campus. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. has signed a long-term lease for the 165,940-rentable-square-foot building at 60 Sylvan Road on its Alexandria Center for Life Science – Waltham mega-campus in metro Boston.

The future tenant is Novo Nordisk, a global health-care and pharmaceutical company. 60 Sylvan Road is currently under redevelopment and expected to deliver in 2025.

Sited in the Route 128 submarket, Alexandria Center for Life Science – Waltham totals 1.5 million rentable square feet and includes numerous amenities, including flexible conference and meeting space, an expansive central lawn, collaboration pods, a café, a fitness and wellness center, outdoor biking and walking paths, and a vertical farm. The campus includes 40, 50 and 60 Sylvan Road; 35 Gatehouse Drive; and 840 Winter St.

READ ALSO: Emerging Life Science Hubs Stake a Claim

Denmark-based Novo Nordisk is best known for semaglutide, which was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 2017 under the brand name Ozempic, to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. In 2021, the FDA added approval for the drug, under the brand name Wegovy, for long-term weight management in adults.

An ideal moment?

Current conditions in the Boston region’s market for life science space “have created a unique moment in time that will greatly benefit life science occupiers and help Greater Boston sustain its healthy life science market,” according to a third-quarter report from Cushman & Wakefield.

This moment, the report explains, results from a confluence of historically high tenant improvement packages and flattening construction costs, letting tenants save on buildouts.

Cushman & Wakefield reports that almost 15 million square feet of life science space is underway in Greater Boston, with 12 million of that delivering by the end of this year. About one-third of that space is preleased.

Earlier this month, Alexandria leased nearly 100,000 square feet at its Alexandria Center for Life Science – San Carlos, in the Bay Area, to CARGO Therapeutics.

In June, a joint venture of Alloy Properties, an affiliate of TPG Real Estate Partners, and Anchor Line Partners acquired five life science assets in Cambridge and Waltham, Mass., from Alexandria for $365 million. The properties total about 425,000 square feet.

The post Alexandria Inks Full-Building Lease at Boston-Area Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

FORUM will come online in 2024. Image courtesy of Lendlease

Boston’s expansive life sciences segment  has continued to bolster the metro’s development pipeline through the first 10 months of 2023, maintaining its lead in terms of construction. The city is however adapting to macro-economic conditions, as construction starts registered a significant drop to less than half of the figure recorded in the previous year, recent CommercialEdge data shows.

In terms of transactions, Boston’s office market performed on par with other gateway metros. While its average price per square foot registered a noteworthy year-over-year drop, the total investment volume still ranked it second among its peers, just behind Manhattan.

Boston continues to lead in development

As of October, there were more than 13.7 million square feet of office space under construction in Boston, accounting for 5.3 percent of total stock, considerably higher than the 1.5 percent national figure. The metro’s pipeline was the largest in the nation, surpassing Miami (4.6 percent) and San Francisco (4.1 percent) and being far above other gateway markets such as Manhattan (1.7 percent), Los Angeles (1.1 percent) and Chicago (0.5 percent). Of the 49 properties comprising Boston’s development volume, 36 were life sciences projects.

Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge topped out a $545 million project dubbed FORUM, spanning 350,000 square feet and subject to a $315 million construction loan from Bank of China. The largest property currently under construction is the 960,000-squre-foot second phase of the Fenway Center which broke ground in June this year.

One Congress rises 600 feet in downtown Boston. Image courtesy of Pelli Clarke & Partners

New office starts did however slowdown with eight properties breaking ground in the first 10 months of 2023 for a total of some 2.8 million square feet. Comparatively, during the same period in 2022, construction had started on 23 properties or 6.2 million square feet of office space.

Year-to-date through October, 15 properties were delivered in Boston, adding more than 5 million square feet of office space online, or 1.8 percent of existing stock. One of the largest properties to come online this year was One Congress, a 1-million-square-foot tower developed by Carr Properties, in partnership with National Real Estate Advisors and The HYM Investment Group. The 43-story building is fully preleased with State Street Bank occupying 510,000 square feet and InterSystems having committed to 420,000 square feet.

PSF prices decrease in Boston’s office market

Year-to-date through October Boston ranked as one of the top markets for office transactions nationally. During the first 10 months of 2023, roughly 5 million square feet of office space traded in Boston for a total of $1.46 billion, only surpassed by Manhattan’s $1.71 billion. The total investment volume registered in the metro was on par with Washington, D.C., ($1.4 billion) and far above Miami ($883.6 million), Chicago ($803 million) and San Francisco ($581 million.)

The 7 Post Office Square underwent extensive renovations. Image courtesy of JLL

The average per square foot price in the metro was $312.6, a significant drop from 2022’s figure of $491. It ranked below Manhattan ($579.6), Miami ($350.6) and San Francisco ($340.6), but considerably surpassing Los Angeles ($282), Washington, D.C., ($215.6) and Chicago ($107.3).

The largest deal recorded this year was CS Capital Management’s joint acquisition of Centerpoint – 41 Seyon St. and Centerpoint – 43 Foundry Ave., two office buildings totaling 444,120 square feet for a combined $444 million.  Another noteworthy transaction was Azora Exan Capital’s $41 million purchase of 7 Post Office Square, a 62,246-square-foot building in downtown Boston.

According to a recent CommercialEdge office market bulletin, Boston ranks fourth among U.S. markets by sheer volume of office loans. The market had $42.9 billion in active loans as of October, only trailing Manhattan ($174.5 billion), Los Angeles ($60 billion) and Washington, D.C. ($51.9 billion).

Boston still offers coworking opportunities

As of October, there were some 4.7 million square feet of coworking space in the Boston office market, accounting for 1.8 percent of the total stock. Washington, D.C., was the only gateway market with flexible space representing a smaller portion of the market at 1.6 percent, while most others had slightly larger shares such as San Francisco (1.9 percent), Chicago (2 percent) and Los Angeles (2.2 percent). Miami continued to lead the U.S. in this metric at 3.5 percent of stock, followed by Manhattan’s 2.6 percent.

Regus operates one of the largest portfolios in the metro with 32 locations for a total of more than 586,000 square feet of flexible space. WeWork also commanded a sizable footprint with 10 properties totaling roughly 896,000 square feet. Industrious is another key player in the Boston coworking market with its hands on more than 195,000 square feet.

441 Morgan Ave. is DivcoWest’s fifth life science building within Cambridge Crossing. Image courtesy of DivcoWest

One of the largest leasing deals in Boston over the past year has been Deloitte committing to 138,000 square feet at the Millennium Partners owned Winthrop Tower in the metro’s financial district. The tenant plans to move into the 62-story tower by the fall of 2024, relocating all its 3,100 employees. DivcoWest also landed a 62,000-square-foot lease from Astellas Pharma Inc at 441 Morgan Ave., a 375,000-square-foot life sciences property currently under construction. The tenant will occupy two full floors and has scheduled its move in for next year.

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A rendering of the completed 300 Binney St. Image courtesy of HGA Architects

BXP has agreed to sell a 45 percent interest in two life science properties in Cambridge, Mass., to Norges Bank Investment Management.

The assets, located at 290 and 300 Binney St., include a combined 810,000 square feet and were valued at $1.66 billion or $2,050 per square foot. Upon closing, NBIM’s investment will total $746.4 million.

Following the sale, BXP will hold a 55 percent ownership stake in the properties, and will continue to provide development, property management and brokerage services, as part of a new joint venture with the buyer.

Components of Kendall Square

Both properties are respectively under construction and redevelopment at BXP’s Kendall Square, an 11-building mixed-use district that includes more than 2.6 million square feet of office, life science, hospitality and multifamily spaces.

To be fully occupied by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, 290 Binney will comprise 570,000 square feet of laboratory space. The 16-story building was designed by Pickard Chilton, and Stantec is the architect of record. The facility is expected to open in April 2026, and will include six levels of parking.

Originally built in 2013, the facility at 300 Binney St. is currently undergoing a complete redevelopment, designed by HGA Architects, into 240,000 square feet of laboratory and life science space. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Broad Institute will occupy the space in its entirety upon its expected completion in January of 2025.

READ ALSO: Life Science Market to Bounce Back: JLL

Both developments rise in the center of Cambridge’s Kendall Square district, home to laboratories of Moderna, Amgen, Merck and Thermo Fisher Scientific, among others. MIT’s main campus is roughly half a mile to the south, while Harvard is within 2 miles. Mass General’s flagship campus is 1 mile to the east, across the Charles River.

Due to its cluster of research universities, hospitals and access to STEM-related talent, Boston leads the nation for office development. According to a recent CommercialEdge report, the metro had nearly 14.5 million square feet of space under construction as of September, more than double the pipeline of Manhattan, and dwarfing Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

Several Boston projects currently underway are valued at more than $1 billion, including the Fenway Center, a mixed-use campus that will include 1 million square feet of office and lab space at full build-out. The Winthrop Center, slated to encompass 1.8 million square feet of office, alongside retail and residential space, is valued at $1.4 billion.

The post BXP Sells $746M Stake in Life Science Assets appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Tishman Speyer and Harvard University have broken ground on the first phase of Enterprise Research Campus, a mixed-use life science development in Boston. Image courtesy of Tishman Speyer

Tishman Speyer and Harvard University celebrated the groundbreaking of Enterprise Research Campus, a mixed-use life science project in Boston. In collaboration with The Harvard Allston Land Co., the developer is building the first phase of Enterprise Research Campus, which is scheduled for delivery in 2026.

The project won the approval of the Boston Planning and Development Agency in 2022, after a long process seeking community input. In June, the development also landed a $750 million construction loan from Otera Capital.

Now, Tishman Speyer has started construction on Enterprise Research Campus, tasking Breakthrough Properties to develop, lease and operate the lab buildings. The developer also tapped a number of planning and architectural firms to help design the project, including Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, Utile, Marlon Blackwell Architects and others.

READ ALSO: 2024 Forecast: More of the Same?

The first phase of Enterprise Research Campus will include two laboratory buildings designed for scientific research and development, catering to biotech and pharmaceutical companies. As part of this project component, Tishman Speyer will also develop the David Rubenstein Treehouse to serve as a campus-wide conference facility for Harvard University. Overall, the initial phase will total 900,000 square feet, since the campus will also include a 343-unit rental community, a hotel and more than 2 acres of public outdoor space.

According to Tishman Speyer, Enterprise Research Campus will have a second phase to complete the 9-acre development. The details for the second phase have not been announced, but the overall development is expected to allocate space for local retail and restaurants, while also offering open areas for public events like farmers’ markets, concerts and outdoor fitness classes.

Boston’s booming life science market

To better capture the growing life science market, Tishman Speyer formed the Breakthrough Properties joint venture with Bellco Capital in 2019. The joint venture focuses on developing state-of-the-art life science centers and broke ground on its first ground-up development, The 105, in March 2020. In July 2020, the Boston project landed a full-building tenant while it was still under construction.

More recently, Breakthrough Properties obtained $130 million in construction financing for a 223,000-square-foot life science building in Philadelphia. In October, Tishman Speyer opened The Spiral, a 2.8 million-square-foot office tower in Manhattan, which had been under construction since 2018.

The post Tishman Speyer, Harvard Break Ground on Boston Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Fenway Center is the first project built over-the-Pike in the last 40 years. Image courtesy of IQHQ

Boston’s booming life science market has kept the city’s office development active in post-COVID-19 times, while most gateway cities are struggling with excess space. A harsh economy, including a slowdown in venture capital funding, hasn’t had as strong of a negative impact on the metro as may have been expected: Boston maintains a robust office development pipeline, according to recent CommercialEdge data.

While life science properties represented roughly 5 percent of office construction a decade ago, in the past two years it has accounted for more than a quarter of starts. Boston is leading the nation’s life sciences development list, with 12.4 million square feet of space under construction as of July, followed by San Francisco (5.6 million) and San Diego (4.5 million).

As of July, Boston was the U.S. market with the biggest under-construction office pipeline, with 13.9 million square feet underway, representing 5.7 percent of total stock. Adding planned projects to the pipeline, the figure balloons to 11.3 percent of total stock.

Harvard Enterprise Research Campus East lab. Image courtesy of Tishman Speyer

In June, Tishman Speyer secured the largest construction financing of the year at the time of the deal. The $750 million note will serve for the development of the first phase of the 900,000-square-foot Harvard Enterprise Research Campus project in Allston, Mass.

Across gateway cities, Manhattan had the second-largest pipeline (7.4 million square feet), followed by Seattle (6.6 million square feet) and San Francisco (5.9 million square feet), while Los Angeles (1.0 million square feet), Miami (2.1 million square feet), Chicago (2.3 million square feet) and Houston (2.7 million square feet) were at the other end of the spectrum.

Nationally, new office starts slowed through 2023, with only 16 million square feet of new office space commencing construction year-to-date through July, down nearly 50 percent since at the same point last year. Since the beginning of the year, six projects totaling 2.4 million square feet of office space broke ground in the metro. Five of these, covering roughly 2 million square feet, were life science buildings.

Boston’s office development is booming

The largest development currently taking shape in Boston is the second phase of Fenway Center, a $1 billion project by REIT IQHQ Inc. and Meredith Management. At full build-out, the project that is rising on air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike will offer 1 million square feet of office and lab space.

74M is adjacent to Kendall Square and next to Assembly Square. Image courtesy of Greystar

Recently, three significant office projects topped out in the city. Back in May, Greystar reached the milestone for its 465,000-square-foot life science building in Somerville, Mass. The development represents the company’s first project within the life science sector.

In the beginning of summer, Catamount Management Corp., in partnership with Lee Kennedy Co. and Trademark Partners, topped out the expansion of 100 Hood Park Drive. The new structure is taking shape atop an existing seven-story structure, which was completed in 2020. Aiming for LEED Gold certification, the five-story expansion will add 186,000 square feet of office and lab space to the property.

In July, WS Development topped out One Boston Wharf, a 707,000-square-foot office tower. In early 2021, Amazon committed to the entire office space in the building. The property is part of Boston Seaport, the single largest active development project in Boston’s history. Delivery is expected next year.

Office transaction volume shows strength

Year-to-date through July, Boston’s office sales volume amounted to 1.21 billion and 4 million square feet. The metro had the second-largest transaction volume among gateway cities, after Manhattan ($1.38 billion). Los Angeles also surpassed the $1 billion mark, with a $1.07 billion sales volume, while Seattle ($72.7 million) and Miami ($245.9 million) had the smallest transaction volumes in the first seven months of the year.

Year-to-date through July, prices averaged $334 per square foot—lower than 2022’s average of $491 per square foot. In the first seven months of the year, office sales prices were highest in Manhattan ($610 per square foot) and the Bay Area ($384 per square foot), while Chicago ($102 per square foot), Miami ($228 per square foot) and Los Angeles ($248 per square foot) recorded the lowest average prices among gateway markets.

The biggest deals of the previous months included Peakstone Realty Trust selling two Class A office and R&D buildings in Andover, Mass., to Rhino Capital Advisors. Situated 25 miles north of Boston and totaling more than 273,000 square feet, the assets were fully leased at the time of the transaction.

421 Park Drive is expected to be completed in 2026. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.

At the end of June, Alexandria Real Estate Equities sold two office and life science assets totaling 778,000 square feet for a combined $272.5 million. The deal included a 510,000-square-foot office campus in Newton, Mass., and a 268,000-square-foot portion of 421 Park Drive, a 660,034-square-foot life science property in Boston.

Coworking still packs a punch

As for coworking space, gateway cities lead the list of U.S. markets with most flex office square footage. As of July, Boston had 2.9 million square feet of confirmed coworking space across 72 locations, representing 1.9 percent of total office space. The amount of coworking space relative to total rentable office space grew since January, when it clocked in at 1.7 percent.

Regus had the biggest number of locations in Boston, with roughly 30 spaces spread across the metro. WeWork also had a strong presence with 14 locations, while LocalWorks and Industrious also operated several spaces in the area.

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One Heritage Drive will be fully renovated later this year. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

FoxRock Properties has secured a $27 million refinancing for One Heritage Drive, a 172,849-square-foot office building in Quincy, Mass. The five-year fixed-rate loan was provided by Metro Credit Union. It retires a $22.8 million loan from First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. originated in 2016, according to CommercialEdge data. JLL arranged the financing.

Granite Telecommunications leased the entire building and will use it as its new headquarters.

The 1980-built, five-story property features 37,225-square-foot floor plates and 727 parking spaces. The building underwent full renovations in 2014 and new upgrades are planned again this year.

One Heritage Drive is near Interstate 93 and roughly 10 miles south of Boston. It also allows for public transit access to downtown Boston via the Quincy MBTA station.

Boston’s office market on healthy track

JLL Senior Director Jonathan Schneider led the Capital Markets team that represented the borrower. In prepared remarks he stated that multiple lenders offered financing options in the process due to strong metrics. Schneider has recently worked on behalf of FoxRock Properties to secure refinancing for a property in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Boston had the largest office pipeline in the nation, with nearly 14 million square feet under construction as of August, representing 5.7 percent of total stock, according to a recent CommercialEdge report shows. It also registered the second-highest sales volume nationally, behind Manhattan, at $1.3 billion, with a $323 per square foot price, the same source shows.

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Investcorp has expanded its U.S. industrial holdings with the acquisition of a 31-property portfolio totaling approximately 1.6 million square feet across five major markets for $216 million, Commercial Property Executive can first report. With this latest investment, the company’s national industrial footprint has grown to more than 600 buildings across 42 million square feet valued at approximately $4.8 billion.

The properties, which are 94 percent occupied, are located in the Atlanta, Boston, Central New Jersey, Allentown, Pa., and San Antonio, Texas, markets. The company notes the properties are in well-established locations with strong demand for infill industrial projects and markets that have major population bases, diversified economies and consistent rent growth.

Investcorp declined a request from CPE to identify the seller of the portfolio or provide further details on the assets acquired.

The firm’s latest acquisition is a testament to its confidence in tailwinds that are shaping the industrial sector, Michael Moriarty, principal & head of commercial acquisitions at Investcorp, said in a prepared statement. Moriarty added that opportunities for scale and diversification still remain in the industrial market.

Herb Myers, co-head of real estate for North America at Investcorp, stated that the continued expansion of e-commerce, coupled with the need for diversified supply chains, has created significant opportunities for investments in factories and warehouses across the U.S.

Investcorp’s focus on industrial investments

A global investment manager specializing in alternative investments including real estate, Investcorp has acquired more than 1,300 properties for a total value of approximately $25 billion since 1996. The firm’s U.S. real estate strategy focuses primarily on the industrial and residential sectors and its portfolio reflects that thesis, with 98 percent of assets held in those property types.

One of the firm’s larger industrial deals occurred in February 2022, when it acquired a portfolio of 64 assets in seven major U.S. metros, totaling about 5.6 million square feet, for $640 million. That transaction grew Investcorp’s U.S. industrial real estate holdings to more than 425 buildings across 32 million square feet valued at approximately $3.5 billion.

More recently, an affiliate of Investcorp partnered with BKM Capital Partners in March to acquire a seven-property, 740,000-square-foot light industrial portfolio in the Las Vegas market from Terry York Properties in an off-market transaction valued at approximately $157.8 million. The portfolio, which had 21 buildings across four locations, was 98 percent leased at the time of the sale.

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The tenant will move into 39 Jackson Road in September 2024. Image courtesy of Ascend Elements

EV battery manufacturer Ascend Elements has signed an agreement with King Street Properties for a 101,000-square-foot facility in Devens, Mass. The company will relocate and expand its headquarters and R&D center, starting in September 2024. CBRE is handling leasing operations for the owner.

The company’s headquarters is at 133 Flanders Road in Westborough, Mass., roughly 30 miles from the new location.

Ascend Elements noted that its growing employee base is what triggered the move—it currently has 350 workers globally, of which 140 are in Massachusetts.

The building is within Pathway Devens, a 45-acre purpose-built biomanufacturing campus, currently still in development by King Street Properties. Upon completion, it will feature more than 700,000 square feet of purpose-built facilities, of which 400,000 are currently operational. The park will also include an 8,300-square-foot amenity center which slated for opening in 2024’s first quarter. Other tenants at the campus include Electric Hydrogen, Azzur Group and Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

Boston ranks high in industrial rent gains

Located at 39 Jackson Road, the building is near Highway 2 and roughly 43 miles from Boston. It is also less than 9 miles from the Fitchburg Municipal Airport.

Among Northeastern markets, Boston registered the highest increase in average asking rates for industrial assets, up 9.5 percent year-over-year, to $9.55 per square foot as of July, according to a recent CommercialEdge report.

As for development, the metro had 5.5 million square feet of industrial space under development, or a 2.3 percent expansion of stock—the second-largest pipeline in the region, behind Philadelphia, the same source shows.

The post King Street Secures 101 KSF Lease in Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

FORUM will come online in 2024. Image courtesy of Lendlease

A joint venture between Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge has topped off FORUM, a 350,000-square-foot life science development in Boston. The $545 million project is scheduled for completion in 2024.

The development is subject to a $315 million construction loan from Bank of China, according to CommercialEdge data. The developers acquired the 1.2-acre site for $67 million in 2021. Consigli Construction Co. is serving as general contractor, while SGA is the architecture firm behind the design. JLL serves as the property’s leasing broker.

The project broke ground in 2022 and is slated to achieve LEED Platinum certification. It will rise nine stories and feature 50,000-square-foot flexible floorplates, to accommodate either multiple- or single-floor tenants. It will comprise shared amenities on the third floor, along with a 7,000-square-foot terrace with cabanas and grilling stations, as well as an art gallery on the first floor. FORUM will also include a 284-stall parking garage with EV charging stations and storage space for 146 bicycles.

Boston’s robust life science supply pipeline

Located at 60 Guest St., the site is part of Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use development. The project is between Interstate 90 and North Beacon Street, roughly 6 miles west of downtown Boston and within walking distance of the Boston Landing train station. The building’s surrounding area includes the New Balance corporate headquarters, a fitness center and the Roadrunner music venue.

As of July, 108 million square feet of office space was underway nationwide, a recent CommercialEdge report shows. Life science properties accounted for 31 percent of the office development pipeline. Boston was the nation’s leader for under-construction office space, featuring a pipeline of 13.9 million square feet, most of which was lab space.

The post Lendlease, Ivanhoé Top Out $545M Boston Life Science Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

One Congress marks Boston’s largest office project delivery this year. Image courtesy of Pelli Clarke & Partners

One Congress, Boston’s newest trophy tower and the market’s largest office project delivered this year, has opened with its 1 million square feet of Class A space fully preleased.

Developed through a joint venture of Carr Properties, National Real Estate Advisors and The HYM Investment Group, the 43-story tower in downtown Boston is 600 feet tall with views of Boston Harbor and the North End.

State Street Bank agreed in January 2019 to lease 510,000 square feet in the tower followed by technology firm InterSystems, which will occupy 420,000 square feet of space. The two deals were the largest office leases in Boston within the last 20 years. Other tenants include Trillium Asset Management and law firms K&L Gates and Husch Blackwell.

READ ALSO: Top Projects That Will Reshape Boston

One Congress on the Boston skyline. Image courtesy of Pelli Clarke & Partners

Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners and CBT Architects, the tower was built by John Moriarty & Associates. It’s the only office tower over 1 million square feet certified as LEED Platinum in Boston, reflecting the developers’ commitment to forward-thinking sustainability. Built for the post-COVID office environment, the building has MERV-15 filtration that captures 95 percent of particles and ensures four outdoor turns of air per hour.

Developers said One Congress exemplified the flight-to-quality trend seen in recent years as corporations seek newly built towers or those with substantial renovations and additional amenities.

Oliver Carr, CEO of Washington, D.C.,-based Carr, which is also the property manager for One Congress, said in a prepared statement the building sets a new standard for the office sector thorough its exceptional design and focus on sustainability. One Congress is Carr’s first development project in Boston. The firm acquired a 75 percent ownership stake in the office development in July 2019. When it first invested in the project in May 2019, the company split ownership with National and brought HYM on as developer.

Spotlight on amenities

Tenants and visitors enter the building through a triple-height lobby which spans an entire city block in length. The lobby features a dedicated concierge service, collaborative workspaces and a coffee bar.

One Congress opened with 1 million square feet of Class A space fully preleased. Image courtesy of Pelli Clarke & Partners

One Congress is the only office tower in Boston to offer a full-floor amenity center and outdoor space totaling nearly 1 acre. Located on the building’s 11th floor, the hospitality-style amenity spaces were curated by interior design firm Gachot Studios. Features include a 7,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness center, customer lounges, cocktail bar, nearly 4,700 square feet of meeting and conference space along with a marketplace of food offerings curated by restaurateur Stephen Starr. The tower also has a 15,000-square-foot outdoor terrace with several open-air pavilions and an outdoor bar.

The building has a 99-point Walk Score and is close to the Rose Kennedy Greenway and several MBTA stations.

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Driven by its academic strength and economic vibrancy, Boston’s commercial real estate market reflects the city’s diversity and wide range of opportunities. Serving as an education and innovation hub, the metro is home to multiple large companies and startups, which all rely on the talent shaped by its prestigious research and science institutions such as Harvard and MIT.  

Over the past decade, Boston has cemented its status as a life science cluster. At the end of July, the metro was leading the national office supply pipeline with 13.9 million square feet underway. More than half of the construction activity was dedicated to life science and research space. And despite the temporary slowdown caused by economic uncertainty, an increasing number of investors and developers continue to bite into the metro’s life science boom, banking on Boston’s lasting appeal. 

Today, several major developments are in the making and, once completed, have the potential to transform the city’s neighborhoods, improving their walkability and redrawing their skylines. Commercial Property Executive looked closely at some of the top projects in Boston that could alter the metro’s urban landscape in the years to come.

1. Fenway Center

The 90,000-square-foot air rights deck over the Mass Pike reportedly is the largest air rights structure built in Boston in the past 40 years. Image courtesy of IQHQ

What started as a high-rise, mixed-use project comprising multifamily and retail in the early 2000s, is now the largest campus under construction in Boston’s Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood. Fenway Center—the $1 billion project developed by life sciences REIT IQHQ Inc. and Meredith Management—was converted to a life science development in 2019. At full buildout, it will encompass almost 1 million square feet of office and lab space, as well as 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail along Brookline Avenue and Beacon Street.

The first phase of the transit-oriented project was completed in 2020 by developer Gerding Edlen in a joint venture with Meredith Management and Nuveen Real Estate. Dubbed Bower, it includes an eight-story mid-rise and a 14-story tower totaling 312 units. Ullico Insurance Co. financed the construction with a $136.6 million loan in 2017 and four years later, JP Morgan Chase originated a $165 million permanent loan for the property, Yardi Matrix data shows.

In April 2021, the developers broke ground on Phase II of Fenway Center, which has been designed by Gensler and SGA. The project encompasses a 22-story tower and a 12-story office and lab space building, as well as an automated garage accessible to both buildings. Constructed on air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike and subject to a 99-year unsubordinated net ground lease, Fenway Center will connect the Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue bridges. The development is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs, 3,000 permanent jobs and generate $15 million in tax revenues for Boston. 

Fenway Center is also set to include 1.6 acres of landscaped green space called Progress Park: A Monument to Life Sciences and Public Health, as well as a large plaza and a 700-foot-long public pedestrian walkway. The park will be dedicated to art and history exhibitions featuring achievements, heroes and the impact of the life science and public health sector in the area.

“Fenway Center is designed to remind people how much fun it can be to come to work and be part of something special,” John Bonanno, chief development officer at IQHQ, told CPE. “Progress continues on Fenway Center, our transformative project that will anchor a new, state-of-art research district adjacent to Boston’s renowned Longwood Medical Area,” he added.

The deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike is expected to be completed at the end of this year. Then, the developers intend to start vertical construction on the towers, with anticipated completion in 2025.

2. Winthrop Center

Reportedly the second-largest vertical development by square feet in the City of Boston history, Winthrop Center—Millennium Partners’ $1.4 billion project—is going to add more than 1.8 million square feet to the metro’s office, retail and residential supply. The developer broke ground on the tower in 2018 and is now preparing to wrap it up, comprising 812,000 square feet of office space, 317 residential units, as well as an underground parking.

The development landed a $775 million loan in 2020 from Cale Street Partners, CommercialEdge data shows. According to Boston Planning and Development Agency documents, Millennium Partners spent a total of $152.8 million on the land and project participation price payments. Handel Architects designed the building, with Suffolk overseeing the construction of the tower. The developer worked with a team led by MIT Director of Environmental Solutions Initiative John Fernandez to create an energy-efficient design, aiming for WELL Gold and LEED Platinum certifications.

Rising 62 stories, the world’s largest Passive House office tower comprises two structures connected by glass walkways, each rising 690 and 579 feet, respectively. Winthrop Center includes T-shaped office floorplates, with workstations to be installed within 35 feet of floor-to-ceiling windows and private outdoor terraces. The Connector grand hall and adjacent park span 20,000 square feet of public space for dining, performances and concerts.

The residential component of the project comprises one- to three-bedroom floorplans, ranging from 781 to 2,369 square feet. The tower includes a total of 56,000 square feet of amenity space, including two fitness clubs, a 75-foot indoor swimming pool, a game room and Club VIP, a 6,500-square-foot pet club for dogs. The Collective, a 24,000-square-foot meeting and coworking space on the third floor, encompasses a lounge with a coffee bar, conference rooms and a fitness center.

“Winthrop Center delivers amenities that will shape the future of living in downtown Boston…This building’s impact will be felt through its dramatic energy savings and the vibrant experiences it creates in fitness and health, education, entertainment and cultural engagement,” said MP Boston Principal Richard Baumert.

The development has already attracted high-profile tenants. Cambridge Associates will lease 115,000 square feet of office space and McKinsey will occupy 95,000 square feet. More recently, Deloitte signed a 138,000-square-foot lease at the property, planning to relocate next year in September.

3. South Station Tower

A 51-story will rise above the 1898-built South Station building. Image courtesy of Hines

A partnership between Boston Planning & Development Agency, Hines and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is working on the South Station Tower, which combines the redevelopment and extension of the South Station Transportation Center and the construction of a 51-story, 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use tower above the 1899-built South Station building.

“South Station Tower represents a transformative addition to Boston’s skyline and the region’s transportation infrastructure. Anchored by the South Station transit hub, the project embodies a revitalized arrival to the city,” said Matthew Murray, managing director at Hines. 

The first phase of the project included the 67 percent increase of the outdoor concourse area which covers the track and platforms, as well as the 50 percent expansion of the bus terminal, providing easier access to trains and subways. The developers are also building a parking garage over the outdoor areas and adding an indoor bike storage room, which should be available by early 2024.

The joint venture behind the project secured an $870 million loan for the redevelopment in early 2020. The developers are completing Phase I of South Station Tower, which will include 685,000 square feet of office space and 166 condos.

“Through the delivery of the transit-oriented, high-end mixed-use tower, South Station Tower will emerge as a vibrant hub that energizes Boston,” said Murray.

Hines partnered with Suffolk for the construction of the tower and Pelli Clarke & Partners for building design, aiming to achieve LEED Gold and WELL Gold certifications, as well as BREEAM Very Good rating. Amenities are set to include a private park with meeting spaces and a dining terrace, a fitness and wellness center and a terrace with swimming pool.

Scheduled for completion in 2025, the South Station Tower will provide direct access from the bus to the train terminal, new elevators and escalator stairs. 

4. Assembly Innovation Park

Work is underway at BioMed Realty’s Assembly Innovation Park, a 495,000-square-foot office and life science project in the Somerville neighborhood, close to Kendall Square. The developer broke ground on the first phase in January 2022 after landing a $514 million construction loan from United Overseas Bank. John Moriarty & Associates is leading the construction of the project, with Perkins & Will taking on design efforts.  

“BioMed Realty’s Assembly Innovation Park incorporates world-class architecture, and sustainability and wellness features in an urban location,” Colleen O’Connor, senior vice president of leasing for the East Coast and U.K. markets of BioMed Realty, told CPE. “The development is well-suited to meet the needs of every life science firm, from early-stage startups to large corporations.”

Phase I is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2024 and will comprise a 12-story tower with 45,000-square-foot floorplates with offices, conference rooms, open collaboration areas, as well as specialty lab rooms and freezer farms. Amenities at the Assembly Innovation Park are set to include a fitness center, a wellness cafe and a multi-purpose penthouse with a rooftop terrace. Designed to achieve LEED Gold and WELL certifications, the project is also slated to encompass a 50,000-square-foot rooftop photovoltaic array for on-site renewable energy. 

The next phases of the development include two other buildings totaling 970,000 square feet, with an indoor-outdoor food hall, conference centers and cafes.

“Upon completion, Assembly Innovation Park will total 1.5 million square feet of Class A lab and office space, providing critical infrastructure for innovative research in the life sciences,” O’Connor added.

This is not the only life science project that BioMed Realty is working on in the metro. Recently, the company broke ground on 585 Kendall, a 600,000-square-foot development in Cambridge, Mass., which is already fully preleased to Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

5. 74M

Another large development under construction in Somerville is 74M, Greystar’s first life science project, which will add roughly 465,000 square feet of life science space to the neighborhood. Developed through a $1.2 billion joint venture with CPP Investments, and built by Consigli, 74M will be a 15-story lab, office and R&D building. The two partners paid $35.7 million for the almost 1-acre development site in 2021, and topped out the project this May.

“74M is a precedent-setting development for Greystar’s burgeoning life sciences platform that will bring new research capacity to the innovation cluster taking form in the Assembly Square district,” said Gary Kerr, managing director at Greystar. “This purpose-built project will leverage the tremendous life sciences workforce currently residing in Somerville and deliver public realm improvements that will enhance the connectivity of Assembly to its surrounding neighborhoods for the broader community.” 

Scheduled for completion in the second quarter of next year, the project includes 350 parking spaces, 27,000 square feet of retail space, a fitness center, a 2,000-square-foot rooftop lounge and outdoor spaces. Elkus Manfredi Architects designed 74M with eco-conscious features and energy-efficient systems, targeting LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum, WiredScore Platinum, and SmartScore certifications.

Located at 74 Middlesex Ave., adjacent to Kendall Square and at the edge of the Assembly Square master development, the upcoming property will provide access to both train and bike routes, as well as Interstate 93.

6. Longwood Place

The five buildings at Longwood Place will total 1.7 million square feet and 2.6 acres of green space. Image courtesy of Skanska

Skanska is developing a 398,000-square-foot research center for Simmons University in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area. The $311 million project will be the university’s new Living and Learning Center, which was approved in June after Skanska secured a 99-year ground leasehold interest in the 5.9 acres site at the campus.

Scheduled for completion in 2026, the Living and Learning Center is set to encompass 1,000 beds and a 500-seat dining hall spread across 37,000 square feet. Plans also call for a fitness center with a swimming pool, as well as office, social and meeting spaces. The research center is part of Simmons University’s three-step master plan to consolidate its existing facilities into one campus, dubbed One Simmons.

After completing the Living and Learning Center, Skanska will start construction on Longwood Place, a project that is set to be developed in three phases. Designed by Sasaki, the mixed-use development will encompass 1.7 million square feet across five buildings, including office, laboratory, retail and residential spaces, alongside 2.6 acres of public open space. 

“The new development at Longwood Place presents the opportunity to thoughtfully bridge two locations together, Fenway and the Longwood Medical and Academic area, by opening up the former Simmons University residential campus with ground-level retail, open space, indoor public amenities, streetscape and mobility improvements,” revealed Russell DeMartino, executive vice president for Skanska Commercial Development’s Boston region.

Longwood Place includes $12 million in public realm improvements. Image courtesy of Skanska

Two of the buildings at Longwood Place will include 380 residential units ranging from studios to three-bedroom floorplans, out of which 20 percent will be affordable. The remaining three structures will comprise 471,000 square feet of office space and 811,000 square feet of laboratory space. Additionally, some 44,000 square feet of ground-floor retail will also be built.

“A key design component of Longwood Place is the 2.6 acres of green and open space which will support the neighborhood’s health-care and educational institutions, as well as life sciences ecosystem. While building on the city’s vision for an extended mixed-use neighborhood corridor, it creates a destination neighborhood for residents, workers and visitors,” DeMartino added.

The Longwood Place project is expected to create 5,000 permanent jobs and 5,000 construction jobs, support $8 million in public realm improvements, and contribute $4 million to transportation and infrastructure improvements.

7. FORUM

FORUM is another life science project that will add 350,000 square feet of lab and office space to Boston’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood. Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge teamed up for the $500 million development after acquiring a 1.2-acre parcel back in 2021 for $67 million. The developers broke ground last year and later secured a $315 million construction loan from Bank of China, CommercialEdge data shows.

Sixty percent of the nine-story FORUM building will be laboratory space and 40 percent will be office space. The structure will feature 50,000-square-foot flexible floorplates, three loading bays, 11-foot lab benches, a 288-stall underground parking garage, 146 bike storage spaces and locker rooms. 

“Life science developments used to be self-contained, but projects like FORUM are now designed to seamlessly integrate into a much larger 24/7 mixed-use ecosystem. At the core of FORUM lies the vision of creating a truly inclusive and accessible community in Boston Landing,” Jonathan Pearce, head of investments, office and life sciences at Ivanhoé Cambridge, told CPE.

NB Development Group’s Boston Landing is a 15-acre mixed-use development, comprising office, lab, entertainment and retail. The live-work-play area along the Massachusetts Turnpike is home to the New Balance corporate headquarters, the practice facilities for the Bruins and Celtics, a track and fitness complex, an entertainment venue, retail and residential buildings as well as a planned hotel, according to Lendlease Americas Director of Development Mark Barer.

“Designed to integrate into the vibrant-mixed use district, the seamless connection of indoor and outdoor experiences at FORUM will offer both flexible workspaces and community gathering spaces, including an outfitted 7,000-square-foot-terrace for tenants and a publicly accessible ground floor that will feature an indoor-outdoor lounge, all-day café and art gallery,” Barer said.

The SGA Architects-designed FORUM project will be net-zero operational carbon upon completion in 2024, targeting LEED Platinum, WiredScore Platinum and Fitwel certifications.

8. 15 Necco St. 

Located in Boston’s Seaport Innovation District, 15 Necco St. will include 340,000 rentable square feet. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities

In the past decade, Boston’s Seaport Innovation District has emerged as a hub that attracts major tech, health-care and retail companies, as well as real estate investors.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development’s project at 15 Necco St. is set to add 334,000 rentable square feet to the metro’s waterfront area. The building will be fully leased to Eli Lilly and Co. for its Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine. Recently, the partnership recapitalized the development and secured $700 million in commitments from Eli Lilly and Co. to further develop the project.

15 Necco St. will shape the open space along Boston’s Harborwalk with new pedestrian areas and a park. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Scheduled for completion next year, 15 Necco St. will encompass life science and office space, as well as ground-floor retail and restaurant space, along with flexible workspaces. Rising 12 stories, the development will also include a rooftop deck and outdoor terraces with green spaces, cafes and restaurants, public work lounge and a waterfront park.

Elkus Manfredi Architects’ design of 15 Necco St. will alter Boston’s skyline with its full-glass exterior. The project is pursuing LEED Gold Core & Shell, Fitwel Life Science and WiredScore Platinum certifications by using on-site renewable geothermal energy, a solar energy installation and efficient mechanical systems. Additionally, the raised platform and building structure will prevent flood risk.

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The 7 Post Office Square underwent extensive renovations. Image courtesy of JLL

Azora Exan Capital has purchased 7 Post Office Square, a 64,246-square-foot office building in Boston, for $41 million. Nuveen Real Estate sold the asset and JLL brokered the transaction on its behalf.

Nuveen acquired the property in 2016 for $38 million, according to CommercialEdge. The company invested approximately $5 million in upgrades, which included the renovation of the main lobby, new HVAC systems and common-area improvements.

Completed in 1966, the seven-story building features 9,000 square feet of retail space, a 5,672-square-foot showroom, floor-to-ceiling windows, two passenger elevators and controlled access.

The office asset was 91 percent leased to eight tenants at the time of sale, with the roster including Fidelity Investments, Kimball, Concept + Design and Wilson Butler Architects.

The 7 Post Office Square building is in the Financial District, on the corner of Franklin and Congress Street. The transit-oriented property is close to Interstate 94, which provides easy access across the Boston metropolitan area. The office building is within walking distance of Post Office Square Park, South Station, the commuter ferry and an abundance of dining options and retail centers.

The 2nd downtown Boston office sale in more than a year

According to CommercialEdge, this was the second office sale in downtown Boston since January 2022. However, the overall Boston area recorded a higher sales volume than most other major U.S. metros. Year-to-date through July, Boston’s office market had $1.2 billion in sales, clocking in third place behind Los Angeles and Manhattan, a recent report by the same source shows.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team included Chris Angelone, Coleman Benedict, Scott Carpenter, Scott Tully Jr., Brooke Howard and Rachel Bliss. The Nuveen team included Dave Dyer and Ines Olesen, while Azora Exan was self-represented by Ignacio Gil-Casares and Nicolas Guemes.

In January, Azora Exan purchased a pair of Cincinnati office buildings affiliated with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, for a total of $78 million. JLL Capital Markets also brokered that transaction, arranging the financing and representing both parties.

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A rendering of the completed 1001 Boylston Street. Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects

The LEGO Group’s Americas division will move its head office to 1001 Boylston St., an under-development, two-tower, 655,683-square-foot mixed-use development taking shape over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston’s Back Bay district.

The toy brick maker will relocate from its current office at the Enfield Business Park in Connecticut in the second quarter of 2025, with a full move-in to the Boylston St. office expected by the end of 2026.

Following its move, the LEGO Group will occupy 100,000 square feet across five floors (from the sixth through the 11th). In a statement, the company said that the move was motivated by both the region’s strong base of engineering, research and development professionals, as well its intent to build relationships with similar companies in the city.

LEGO already has a history in the Boston-Cambridge area; the brand’s Mindstorms line of robotics kits was developed within a nearly 40-year partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab.

Towering over the Turnpike

A rendering of 1001 Boylston St. Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects

Construction on 1001 Boylston St. began in July of 2020 at Parcel 12, a plot situated at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street, according to Boston.com. The project’s developer is locally based Samuels & Associates. Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the buildings, and Suffolk Construction is the general contractor. CBRE Executive Vice President Eric Smith alongside Senior Vice President Timothy Howe serve as the property’s leasing brokers.

In its initial proposal, the developer called for roughly 325,000 square feet of office space in one 20-story tower, and 150,000 square feet of hospitality space in the other, alongside 70,000 square feet of retail options. In 2019, CarGurus became the offices’ anchor tenant, with the signing of a 273,000-square-foot prelease for the building’s top 11 floors. Presently, the property includes 475,000 square feet of office space.

As of August, both towers have topped off on construction and the office space is currently undergoing interior modeling, tenant fit outs, as well as exterior finishes around its entrance. Both the offices and hotel are having glass curtain walls installed over their window spaces. According to CommercialEdge information, the project is expected to finish construction in November of this year.

READ ALSO: Corporate Relocations Are Up, But Experts Paint a Complex Picture

Upon completion, the office spaces at 1001 Boylston St. are anticipated to achieve LEED, WELL and WELL Core Gold certifications. On-site amenities will include a fitness center, wellness room, an attached 150-space parking garage and a rooftop terrace, according to CommercialEdge information. Additionally, the property will feature its own Boston Bluebike station, and will provide easy access to the MBTA Hynes Convention Center station. In its immediate vicinity, the complex is flanked by myriad retail, dining and entertainment offerings, with the Prudential Center lying half a mile to the east.

The Boston.com report states that Amsterdam-based hotelier citizenM will operate the hospitality space.

Office boom in Boston

Boston remains among the strongest office markets in the nation, in nearly all of its fundamentals, with a 10.6 percent vacancy rate, alongside an under-construction pipeline of 15.1 million square feet, according to data from a July 2023 CommercialEdge report. Due to its dense number of research universities, as well as tech, medical and life science companies, the Cradle of Liberty is also proving to be an attractive avenue for investors, seeing $1.3 billion in sales, year-to-date, surpassing both Manhattan and Los Angeles.

Alongside LEGO, the city’s office spaces are attracting other household name brands. In July, WS Development topped out on its construction of One Boston Wharf, a 707,000-square foot office tower that will host Amazon as its full-building tenant.

The post LEGO to Play in Boston’s Back Bay appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

441 Morgan Ave. is DivcoWest’s fifth life science building within Cambridge Crossing. Image courtesy of DivcoWest

Astellas Pharma Inc. has signed a 62,000-square-foot lease at 441 Morgan Ave., in Cambridge, Mass. Currently underway, the 375,000-square-foot, Class A life science facility is part of DivcoWest’s six-building mixed-use Cambridge Crossing development.

Transwestern negotiated on behalf of the tenant, that will occupy two floors at the property, with moving-in scheduled in 2024. The office and lab building topped out in late 2022, with $401.4 million in construction financing provided by KKR, CommercialEdge data shows.

Designed by Ennead and Jacobs Consulting and targeting LEED Gold and WiredScore Platinum certifications, the 14-story 441 Morgan Ave. project is the fifth lab building within the development. The property will include five outdoor terraces, a 5-acre common-area park, three underground parking levels, bike storage facilities and integrated building technologies.

Located close to Interstate 93 and to multiple bus and train stations, the site is close to Kendall Square, while also being 2 miles from downtown Boston through Craigie Drawbridge and 3 miles from Boston Logan International Airport.

Transwestern’s team of Executive Vice Presidents Kyle Robbins and David Burkards, together with Executive Managing Director Andrew Davidson represented Astellas in the lease negotiations.

Developing life science space within Boston

At full build-out, DivcoWest’s Cambridge Crossing will total 4.5 million square feet of residential, retail, office and life sciences space. The development currently has 2.1 million square feet of space completed or under construction and is home to Cerevel Therapeutics and Philips North American Research Center.

Earlier in June, Skanska announced plans to develop a research center for Simmons University, in the Longwood  Medical area of Boston. The $311 million project will total 398,000 square feet of office and residential space.

The post DivcoWest Secures 62 KSF Life Science Lease in Cambridge appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Marcus Partners has sold a six-building, 1.2 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in the Greater Boston area for $167 million. CBRE negotiated the deal on behalf of the seller and procured the buyer, Westbrook Partners, the Boston Business Journal first reported.

Marcus Partners assembled the property collection, called the Boston Metro Logistics portfolio, through a series of acquisitions between 2019 and 2021. During its ownership, the company enhanced the value of the assets through leasing, ground-up developments, renovations and cosmetic improvements.

A Greater Boston portfolio

The Boston Metro Logistics portfolio is composed of:

• A 169,986-square-foot, Class A, one-story building at 176 Grove St., in Franklin, Mass.
• A 150,000-square-foot, Class A building at 206 Grove St., in Franklin, Mass., completed in 2022.
• A 165,000-square-foot, Class B manufacturing facility located at 210 Grove St., in Franklin, Mass.
• A 116,864-square-foot, Class B warehouse at 17 Gilmore Drive, in Sutton, Mass.
• A 134,732-square-foot, Class B industrial facility at 1 First Ave., in Peabody, Mass.
• A 407,466-square-foot, Class B distribution facility at 57 Littlefield St., in Avon, Mass.

The portfolio’s tenant roster includes XPO Logistics, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Waters Corp., Source International Corp., Spire and S.G. Torrice Co., among others, CommercialEdge data shows.

The three Franklin properties feature 26-, 36- and 19-foot clear heights, truck courts, loading doors, dock levelers and bumpers, ESFR sprinkler systems, sky lights and a total of 317 vehicle parking spots. The other three buildings include 16- to 25-foot clear heights, loading doors, dock bumpers and levelers, truck courts, HVAC climate systems and a total of 363 vehicle parking spots, the same source shows.

READ ALSO: Expanding Into Industrial: Diversifying for Long-Term Success

The three Franklin properties are located near Interstate 495, covering a combined 45.9 acres, 36 miles from Worcester, Mass., 42 miles from Boston and within 45 miles of Boston Logan International Airport. The Sutton and Avon buildings are within 58 miles from each other, while the Peabody asset is situated 15 miles from downtown Boston. The CBRE team led by Executive Vice Presidents Scott Dragos and Chris Skeffington, along with Senior Vice President Roy Sandeman assisted the seller and procured the new owner.

National in-place rents for industrial space recorded a 7.4 percent year-over-year increase as of June, a recent CommercialEdge report shows. As port markets continue to witness the most significant growth, Boston in-place rents rose by 10.3 percent, followed by New Jersey (8.8 percent) and Bridgeport (8.5 percent).

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50 Minuteman Road. Image courtesy of Newmark

Rhino Capital Advisors has purchased two Class A office and R&D buildings in Andover, Mass., for $58 million. Peakstone Realty Trust sold the fully leased properties.

Situated 25 miles north of Boston, the two assets are 50 Minuteman Road and 6 Technology Drive. CommercialEdge data shows that Peakstone Realty Trust purchased both buildings in March 2021.

Aerospace and defense technology and solutions provider Mercury fully occupies 50 Minuteman Road. The asset totals 145,262 square feet and is located on approximately 14 acres, according to CommercialEdge data. Completed in 1997, the building stands at three stories. It includes 531 parking spaces and a fitness center.

Totaling 128,400 square feet, 6 Technology Drive is occupied by Dräger, a medical and safety technology product manufacturer. The company uses the location as a design, development and manufacturing flagship facility.

6 Technology Drive. Image courtesy of Newmark

The same data shows that 6 Technology Drive came online in 1984. The two-story building includes 5,400 square feet of laboratory space and 406 parking spaces. It sits on an approximately 13-acre lot.

Interstate 93 and 495 offer tenants of 50 Minuteman Road and 6 Technology Drive access to the larger Boston, Massachusetts and Northeastern territories.

Newmark’s Robert Griffin, co-head of U.S. capital markets, Edward Maher, executive vice chairman, Matthew Pullen, vice chairman, and Samantha Hallowell, senior managing director, represented the seller and procured the buyer.

Boston continues to grow

With their close proximity to Boston, both assets are nearby some 2 million square feet of existing and developing life science projects. More than half, specifically 54.8 percent, of Boston’s current office supply pipeline was life science space as of January. Considering the city’s popularity for life science and research, paired with a strong university presence, the Boston market holds the largest under-construction office supply in the nation.

Recently, One Boston Wharf, a 707,000-square-foot office building in Boston, topped out. Upon its completion in 2024, Amazon is set to house the building’s entire office space. The developer, WS Development, completed a similar high-rise Boston office building previously.

The post Boston Office Buildings Trade for $58M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

One Boston Wharf. Image courtesy of WS Development

WS Development has topped out One Boston Wharf, a 707,000-square-foot office building in Boston. The developer began construction on the project in summer 2021, with delivery expected in 2024. Turner Construction serves as general contractor; Copenhagen-based Henning Larsen collaborated with Gensler for the development’s design.

Once completed, One Boston Wharf is expected to be the city’s largest net-zero carbon office building. The structure will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90 percent compared to code requirements and will eliminate 5.1 million pounds of CO₂ emissions each year.

READ ALSO: The Big City Rebound and Its CRE Implications

Rising 17 stories at 1 Boston Wharf Road, the tower will also include 77,000 square feet of retail when complete. Amazon already committed to leasing the entirety of the property’s office space, amounting to 630,000 square feet, in January 2021. Amenities will include multiple outdoor terraces, a public space, as well as the 700-seat Seaport Performing Arts Center, that will be located on the second and third floors of the building.

One Boston Wharf is part of Boston Seaport, the single largest active development project in Boston’s history. The 33-acre mixed-use district is currently home to more than 350 companies and includes 7.6 million square feet for various uses, featuring residential, hotel, office, retail and entertainment, among others.

Amazon, a repeat tenant

Before One Boston Wharf, WS Development completed another office high-rise in Boston Seaport, again with the help of Turner Construction. In November 2020, the companies topped out the 525,000-square-foot 111 Harbor Way, which Amazon had also leased the majority of.

WS Development has a portfolio that includes more than 100 properties totaling more than 22 million square feet of existing space. An additional 9 million square feet are in the developer’s pipeline.

More recently, WS Development and Nuveen Real Estate refinanced their 675,000-square-foot grocery-anchored, lifestyle center in Dedham, Mass., with a $190 million loan. Whole Foods, Apple, L.L. Bean and Showcase Cinemas anchor the property.

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Winthrop Center exterior. Image courtesy of MP Boston

MP Boston, the local arm of Millennium Partners, has landed a new tenant at Winthrop Center, a 62-story mixed-use tower in Boston’s Financial District. Deloitte signed up for 138,000 square feet at the property and plans to move into the new space in the fall of 2024. The deal is currently the largest office lease signed this year in the metro.

Deloitte currently occupies space at 200 Berkeley St. in Boston’s Back Bay, an office building owned by Manulife Investment Management. The firm plans to relocate all its 3,100 employees to the new location, Boston Globe reported.

READ ALSO: A Closer Look at Tech Layoffs’ Impact on Office Leasing

Millennium Partners broke ground on Winthrop Center in October 2018. The 691-foot building comprises 812,000 square feet of office space and 317 luxury condominiums that officially opened in May, Boston Real Estate Times reported. The developer collaborated with a team led by the Director of MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative, John Fernandez, for the energy-efficient design.

The $1.4 billion project was financed with a $775 million construction loan in 2020, provided by Cale Street Investments. According to CommercialEdge data, the note has a maturity date set for October of this year.

The Collective at Winthrop Center. Image courtesy of MP Boston

The office component includes The Collective, a 24,000-square-foot amenity space—comprising a fitness center, game room, coffee bar and recovery room. The property also offers meeting pods and a coworking space. Another component, known as The Connector, is a multi-floor public gathering space that anchors the building and traverses the site between Federal and Devonshire streets.

Other office tenants in the building include Cambridge Associates, which signed a lease for 115,000 square feet in February 2022, and McKinsey, which agreed to 95,000 square feet last year in September.

The tower is at 115 Federal St., near The Seaport, surrounded by Boston Common, the Theatre District and South Station. Tenants have access to various restaurants and shops, rental bikes and transportation options.

Boston leads office development

Despite a slowdown in investment in office assets across the U.S., Boston is still thriving in terms of development, particularly due to its significant life science component. As of May, Boston had 15.2 million square feet under construction, representing 6.3 percent of stock, according to a recent CommercialEdge report. The average in-place rents increased 7.7 percent year-over-year.

Last month, Skanska signed a deal to develop a mixed-use campus in the Longwood Medical area of Boston. The $311 million project will feature more than 390,000 square feet of office, residential and social spaces.

The post Deloitte Commits to 138 KSF in Downtown Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

421 Park Drive. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities has sold two office and life science assets totaling 778,000 square feet in the Boston area. Riverside Center, a 510,000-square-foot office campus in Newton, Mass., and a 268,000-square-foot portion of 421 Park Drive, a 660,034-square-foot life science development in Boston, traded for a combined $272.5 million.

Boston Children’s Hospital acquired part of the Boston project, coming online in the 2 million-square-foot Alexandria Center for Life Science – Fenway campus, for an initial $155 million. Additionally, the buyer will sponsor the construction of the facility with funds proportional to its 48.5 percent ownership stake. Alexandria will remain the asset’s operator and property manager.

In a separate transaction, a joint venture between Barings and Greatland Realty Partners acquired the three-building Riverside Center property in Newton. The partnership’s investment was $117.5 million, public records show, half the price Alexandria paid in 2020 for the Class A asset.

READ ALSO: Opportunities Abound for Disciplined Investors

The two deals came on the heels of several similar moves. Earlier this month, Alexandria, in a partnership with Nuveen, sold 70 percent interest in 9625 Towne Centre Drive, a 163,648-square-foot facility in San Diego that was purpose-built for Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

In April, the REIT transferred a portion of its interest in an ongoing project at 15 Necco St. in Boston to Mori Trust Co. The deal was, at the time, the largest single-building transaction of its kind this year.

Inside Alexandria’s life science campus in Fenway

Already under construction, the 421 Park Drive project is expected to go vertical later this year, with completion expected in 2026. Upon delivery, the 13-story life science building will comprise more than a quarter of the space at the Alexandria Center for Life Science – Fenway campus, developed by the seller in partnership with Samuels & Associates.

Plans for Alexandria Center for Life Science – Fenway emerged in 2021, when Alexandria purchased the entire lot, which includes the historic Landmark Center, for $1.5 billion. The campus will be the developer’s latest life science component of its Greater Boston cluster that also includes Minuteman Park, a 1.3 million-square-foot property in Andover, Mass.

READ ALSO: Getting Into the Heads of Life Science Clients

At full build-out, Alexandria Center for Life Science – Fenway will encompass four buildings, including the Landmark Center and another 550,000-square-foot facility, totaling more than 2 million square feet of laboratory and office space. Amenities will include open courtyards, 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and direct connections to the MBTA Fenway station. The campus is situated in its namesake district, three blocks away from Fenway Park.

Riverside Center’s stats

Riverside Center. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Located at 275 Grove St., Riverside Center came online in 2000, according to CommercialEdge information. Alexandria picked up the property in 2020 for $235 million, with the intention of converting it entirely to life science office and laboratory space, as reported in Banker & Tradesman. Those plans were abandoned earlier this year, motivated in part by lagging office fundamentals, stagnating demand and rising construction costs, the company reported in an April earnings call.

Riverside Center sits on 11 acres, with its three buildings connected by a central atrium. The buildings’ tenants are in the financial services, health and technology sectors. Amenities include 6,000 square feet of retail space, alongside dining services curated by Kendall Kitchen, according to CommercialEdge information.

The property is directly adjacent to the Riverside MBTA station, and in between on-ramps to the interstates 90 and 95, 10 miles west of downtown Boston and within 8 miles of Cambridge, Mass. The campus is across the street from Lasell University and 2 miles south of Brandeis University.

The post Alexandria Sells 2 Boston Office, Life Science Assets for $273M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

100 Hood Park Drive. Rendering courtesy of Catamount Management Corp.

Catamount Management Corp., in partnership with Lee Kennedy Co. and Trademark Partners, has topped off the expansion of 100 Hood Park Drive, an office and life science property in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood. The 186,000-square-foot development rises atop an existing seven-story building, with completion expected in 2024.

The developers started construction on the tower addition last year. Project financing includes an $100 million loan from PNC Bank, according to CommercialEdge data.

The existing structure came online in 2020 and comprises 61,139 square feet of lab space on the second floor and 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, along with a 900-space garage with 50 EV charging stations. The expansion, designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, will add five stories with floorplates averaging 37,000 square feet, designed to accommodate a 60/40 lab and office split. In total, the 13-story building will encompass 287,000 square feet of commercial space.

Part of the Hood Park campus

When complete, 100 Hood Park Drive will be an anchor for Hood Park, the 20-acre mixed-use campus taking shape as the redevelopment of the old H.P. Hood and Sons dairy hub. At full build-out, the campus will incorporate 1.8 million square feet of lab and office space and 100,000 square feet of retail, as well as 335 residential units. The property already has multiple life science tenants including Bluebird Bio, Mori, Solid Biosciences, Indigo and Advent Technologies.

Located just east of Interstate 93, Hood Park is some 3 miles from downtown Boston and 2 miles from Kendall Square. The property is also less than 2 miles from Assembly Square, where Greystar recently topped off a life science project which is part of a $1.2 billion joint venture.

Nationally, Boston has been leading the office development market, with 15.2 million square feet of office space in its supply pipeline as of May, accounting for 6.3 percent of existing inventory, according to a recent CommercialEdge report. Most of the construction activity is fueled by the life sciences sector.

The post Boston Mixed-Use Development Tops Off appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

100 Forge. Image by Anton Grassl, courtesy of Boylston Properties

Boylston Properties and J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives have obtained a $150 million refinancing for 100 Forge, a life science asset totaling 165,600 square feet in Watertown, Mass. The Northwestern Mutual note will pay off the $100 million construction loan from Bank OZK, originated in 2021, according to CommercialEdge data. JLL Capital Markets brokered the deal on behalf of the partnership.

Open since January as the first purpose-built lab building in the city, 100 Forge is part of the life science campus of Arsenal Yards, a mixed-use destination totaling 1 million square feet, developed by Boylston Properties and The Wilder Cos. since 2017. The biotech complex also includes the 159,000-square-foot 500 Forge and the 108,000-square-foot 200 Arsenal Yards Blvd.

READ ALSO: Getting Into the Heads of Life Science Clients

Situated on 16 acres at 100 Forge Road, the nine-story asset features 15,022- to 19,684-square-foot floorplates, conference rooms, a storage area, loading facilities, a bicycle lobby space and a chemical storage area with pH neutralization capabilities. The building has been fully leased since the end of 2021; its tenant roster includes Remix Therapeutics, Vigil Therapeutics, Abata Therapeutics, Mariana Oncology and Affini-T Therapeutics.

The property, located just north of Interstate 90, is 3 miles from Cambridge, Mass., 4 miles from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 6 miles from downtown Boston and within 10 miles of Boston Logan International Airport.

JLL Senior Managing Director Brett Paulsrud and Senior Director Henry Schaffer made arrangements on behalf of the borrower.

A powerful life science market

Several major life science projects have been announced or are moving forward in Greater Boston. Earlier this month, Skanska announced plans for the development of a 398,000-square-foot research center for Simmons University, a $311 million project slated for delivery in September 2026.

In May, Greystar topped out a 465,000-square-foot life science building in Somerville, Mass.’ Assembly Square district. The company’s first ever project in the life sciences sector is coming online in the context of the $1.2 billion joint venture between Greystar and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

In September 2022, Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge commenced construction on a $500 million life science project situated in the heart of Boston Landing. Completion of the 350,000-square-foot building is expected in 2024.

The post Boylston, J.P. Morgan Secure $150M for Boston Life Science Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Harvard Enterprise Research Campus East lab. Image courtesy of Tishman Speyer

Tishman Speyer has secured a $750 million construction loan for the development of the first phase of the 900,000-square-foot Harvard Enterprise Research Campus project in Allston, Mass. Otera Capital provided the financing, which is reportedly the largest to date in 2023.

In collaboration with Harvard Allston Land Co., the developer is poised to begin construction next week, and the buildings are slated to open in late 2025 and early 2026. The Boston Planning and Development Agency granted approval for the initial phase of the 9-acre mixed-use development last year in July.

READ ALSO: Will CRE Construction Hold Steady in 2023?

For this project, Tishman Speyer and the Harvard Allston Land Co. executed one of the most significant inclusionary investor initiatives in the history of Boston. As a result of this initiative, more than 150 individuals and households, including many local Boston residents, of Black and Hispanic backgrounds became owners of the Harvard Enterprise Research Campus. The collective group contributed more than $30 million toward the project’s equity.

The partners made diversity and inclusion core aspects of their joint endeavor. The procurement process demonstrated this commitment, as it led to the allocation of over 30 percent of pre-construction costs and more than 15 percent of total construction costs to firms led by minorities and women. Furthermore, Tishman Speyer will curate a vibrant ground-floor experience by featuring small, local retailers that are owned by minorities and women.

Furthermore, Tishman Speyer has taken steps to foster partnerships among construction companies to ensure that minority-owned firms have a meaningful involvement in the project and can derive long-term benefits from their participation.

The team behind the project

Turner Construction, in collaboration with Janey Construction Management and J&J Contractors, has been appointed to develop the laboratory buildings. As for the residential and hotel components, Consigli Construction and Smoot Boston LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Smoot Construction Co. of Washington, D.C.,  have joined forces to complete these buildings.

The two buildings of the Harvard Enterprise Research Campus will be developed, leased, and operated by Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital. The combined space in the buildings will amount to 440,000 square feet, dedicated to laboratory and office usage.

Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, Utile, Marlon Blackwell Architects, MVRDV, Moody Nolan, Arrowstreet and Scape Landscape Architecture will be overseeing the design and architectural efforts for the development.

Where science, business and sustainability converge

The project will consist of two laboratory buildings dedicated to scientific research and development, a 343-unit multifamily community and a hotel. In addition, Tishman Speyer will develop the David Rubenstein Treehouse, a mass-timber structure, on behalf of Harvard University. This treehouse will serve as a conference facility for the entire campus.

The project is targeting LEED Gold certification, supporting the region’s sustainable future by creating climate-resilient, eco-friendly buildings using low-carbon construction methods.

Harvard Enterprise Research Campus residential component. Image courtesy of Tishman Speyer

In the initial phase, a considerable proportion of 25 percent of the new apartments will be affordable. The units will be accessible to individuals and families earning between 30 percent and 100 percent of the area median income. This commitment goes beyond Boston’s existing inclusionary housing development policy, which currently stands at 13 percent.

Set to take shape adjacent to the Harvard Business School and Harvard Science and Engineering Complex, the initial phase of the Harvard Enterprise Research Campus will feature an integration of street-level shops and restaurants. Additionally, the development will encompass over 2 acres of open space designated to various public events, including farmer’s markets, concerts and outdoor fitness classes.

The post Tishman Speyer Lands $750M for Boston Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by Julia Koblitz via Unsplash

Alloy Properties, an affiliate of TPG Real Estate Partners, has acquired five life science assets in Cambridge and Waltham, Mass. Alexandria Real Estate Equities sold the portfolio for $365 million, or an average sales price of $852 per rentable square foot.

Two of the assets are located at 780 and 790 Memorial Drive in Cambridgeport in Cambridge, while three facilities are in Waltham at 225 Second Ave., 266 Second Ave. and 275 Second Ave.

The properties total about 425,000 square feet across metro Boston, which remains one of the nation’s strongest and fastest-growing life science markets.

Alloy is a national life science and innovation platform backed by TREP and made the acquisition in a joint venture with Anchor Line Partners, of Boston.

READ ALSO: Getting Into the Heads of Life Science Clients

The Cambridge portfolio, according to Alloy, represents the company’s “first lab campus entirely dedicated to earlier-stage, high growth companies with a full suite of amenities, flexible lease terms, and modular lab space” and is targeting “companies and founders in the post-incubation stage.”

The three Second Avenue buildings in the Waltham portfolio are home to several global life science companies.

In a prepared statement, Alicia Mistry Hinds, Alloy’s director of asset management, noted that this acquisition brings the company’s Boston-area footprint to 1.8 million square feet, “making Alloy one of the largest life science real estate owners in the area.”

Alloy now owns 21 life science buildings in the Boston metro, including properties in and around Cambridge and others in Lexington, Waltham and Bedford, Mass.

A strong life science market

The metro Boston life science sector has seen rapid activity on multiple fronts recently.

At the end of May, Oxford Properties sold a new 140,000-square-foot GMP facility in Marlborough, Mass., to pharma and biotech company Moderna (of COVID-19 vaccine fame) for $91 million.

In mid-May, Greystar topped out 74M, a 465,000-square-foot life science building in Somerville, Mass., the developer’s first-ever life science project. The building is part of a $1.2 billion joint venture between Greystar and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

In mid-April, an affiliate of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., along with National Development, transferred a partial interest in a life science development at 15 Necco St. in Boston to a U.S. affiliate of Mori Trust Co. Ltd. The 345,995-rentable-square-foot Class A project is scheduled to deliver late this year. The deal was Mori Trust’s first life science transaction in the U.S.

And in March, Berkeley Investments received approval to develop a five-building, mixed-use, transit-oriented development comprising 720,000 square feet of Class A lab, R&D space and office space and 252 apartment units at 176 Lincoln in Boston. The company plans to break ground next year, with completion expected in 2028. The 5.2-acre site has been vacant for 35 years.

The post Alloy Properties Pays $365M for Boston-Area Life Science Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Chelsea Point. Image courtesy of Hines

Hines has completed demolition and broken ground at 250 Marginal St., an 8.6-acre infill site in Chelsea, Mass., for Chelsea Point, a 146,409-square-foot Class A distribution facility.

The site was acquired last year by Hines U.S. Property Partners, the firm’s flagship commingled U.S. core-plus fund. Financing for this project is through a construction loan from J.P. Morgan.

A Hines spokesperson confirmed to Commercial Property Executive that dollar amounts for the project and the construction financing are not being released. Information from CommercialEdge, however, shows a three-year, $57.9 million loan from JPMorgan Chase originated in August 2022.

READ ALSO: How Debt Costs Will Affect Industrial Demand This Year

The site is in what Hines describes as “a key last-mile market for distribution and freight shipping” and is only 2 miles from Boston Logan International Airport and 3 miles from downtown Boston.

The building will feature a 36-foot clear height and the ability to accommodate a single user or multiple tenants. Construction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

The project architect is RODE Architects Inc., of Boston.

Chelsea Point. Image courtesy of Hines

In a prepared statement, Michael Francis, managing director at Hines Boston, pointed out that Chelsea Point will be Hines’ first industrial development in Boston, where, he added, there is a significant supply and demand imbalance for infill logistics product.

Hines has selected JLL to be the property’s listing agent. JLL’s New England industrial team will consist of Managing Directors Rachel Marks, Michael Ciummei and Joe Fabiano.

Too much growth?

The amount of new space entering metro Boston’s industrial market—about 3 million square feet just in the first quarter, most of it speculative—has been enough to tip year-to-date absorption into a negative 818,000 square feet and push average direct asking rents down about 80 basis points, to $14.37 per square foot, according to a new report from JLL. Metro-wide, total vacancy is up a bit, to 5.4 percent.

In the North submarket, distribution space saw net negative absorption of 183,000 square feet, or 0.7 percent, on an inventory of 26.3 million square feet. And a very substantial 4.4 million square feet of space was underway in the submarket as of the first quarter.

Last October, Greystar Real Estate Partners began construction on a 412,500-square-foot industrial project in East Bridgewater, Mass. The developer had acquired the 46-acre site at 798 N. Bedford St. from Rhino Capital Advisors for $22.3 million.

The post Hines Breaks Ground on Last-Mile Distribution Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Legacy Place. Image courtesy of JLL Capital Markets

WS Development and Nuveen Real Estate have refinanced Legacy Place, their 675,000-square-foot grocery-anchored, lifestyle center in Dedham, Mass., with $190 million in first mortgage refinancing from Wells Fargo and Truist. JLL Capital Markets arranged the funding.

Legacy Place was completed in 2009 and renovated in 2020 and 2022. The retail center is anchored by Whole Foods, Apple, L.L. Bean and Showcase Cinemas. This Whole Foods reportedly is the chain’s most-visited location in Massachusetts, and Legacy Place reportedly is the most-visited lifestyle center in New England.

Other tenants include Nike, Athleta, Industrious, Shake Shack, Lululemon, Sephora, Sweetgreen and Yard House.

READ ALSO: How New Entertainment Concepts Are Impacting Retail

The previous financing on the center was a $200 million, 10-year loan originated by Wells Fargo Bank in April 2013, according to CommercialEdge. Two units at the center totaling 43,325 square feet are currently available, the same source indicates.

The 37-acre site is at 300 Legacy Place Blvd., in Dedham, which enjoys an average annual household income over $150,000.

In a prepared statement, Todd Rollins, who heads acquisitions and asset management for Nuveen’s Northeast region, said that despite macro-economic headwinds, well-located large-format retail properties anchored by sought-after tenants will continue to thrive.

The JLL Retail Capital Markets Debt Advisory team was led by Senior Managing Director Brett Paulsrud, Senior Director Henry Schaffer and Associate Hugh Doherty, with assistance from Retail Investment Sales Advisors Chris Angelone and Zach Nitsche.

Conflicting dynamics

The metro Boston retail real estate market sits at the intersection of a high median household income and a modest regional development pipeline, but with a backdrop of inflation worries, according to a report from Marcus & Millichap. Availability in Boston itself was just 2.1 percent as of late last year, and centers anchored by grocery and drug stores should retain appeal for investors, the report stated.

The post WS Development, Nuveen Obtain $190M Refi for Lifestyle Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A rendering of the completed Longwood Place. Image courtesy of Skanska

Skanska has signed a deal to develop an approximately 398,000-square-foot research center for Simmons University. The contract to build the new Living and Learning Center, situated in the Longwood Medical area of Boston, is worth $311 million.

Simmons—which serves women undergraduates and offers graduate programs open to all students—has been planning the One Simmons project for decades as part of an effort to consolidate its facilities onto a single campus. The Skanska project is the final phase of the mission.

The Living and Learning Center will feature a 1,000-bed student residence, coworking spaces, social spaces, office support spaces and a dining facility. Amenities in the project’s fitness facility are set to include a pool, gym, weight room and rowing tanks.

The development’s anticipated delivery is in September of 2026, following a construction start in May of this year. Upon completion of the Living and Learning Center, Skanska will begin developing the Longwood Place.

Future site plans

A rendering of Longwood Place’s outdoor area. Image courtesy of Skanska

Longwood Place, another mixed-use development at the site of Simmons University’s residential campus, received approval from the Boston Zoning Commission on March 29. Designed by Sasaki, the development will be a mixed-use gateway to the Longwood Medical Area.

As part of the development, five buildings will be completed totaling 1.7 million square feet. Office, laboratory, retail and residential spaces are anticipated to be developed, alongside 2.6 acres of public open space. Additionally, more than 44,000 square feet of ground-floor retail will be built.

Situated at 305 Brooklyn Ave., the North Boston office and retail-oriented buildings are anticipated to range from 424,000 square feet to 622,000 square feet, CommercialEdge data shows.

Boston’s booming office space

The Skanska developments add to the many mixed-use and office projects currently underway in the Boston market. According to a recent CommercialEdge report, the area held the largest under-construction office supply in the nation as of January, backed by a strong university presence and increasing demand for life science research and office space.

As of January, life science buildings in Boston totaled 13.7 percent of the city’s total inventory. More than half of the office space being constructed during the same month was for lab space. In the near future, demand for life science and office space in the area is anticipated to remain strong.

The post Skanska to Build $311M Mixed-Use Campus in Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

149 Hayes Memorial Drive. Image courtesy of Oxford Properties Group

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna has acquired a newly built 140,000-square-foot Boston-area GMP facility from developer Oxford Properties Group for $91 million.

The 24-acre parcel, acquired as a vacant site by Oxford in 2021, is located at 149 Hayes Memorial Drive in Marlborough, Mass., a Boston submarket. Oxford built a two-story biomanufacturing facility that was designed to accommodate a range of manufacturing processes.

The building has 36-foot clear heights, four loading docks and multiple freight elevators. Moderna, which plans to use the property for manufacturing and office space, is expected to add 60,000 square feet and invest more than $320 million in the expansion, according to local news reports. The buildout will include a manufacturing clean room, lab space and a warehouse, the Worcester Business Journal reported.

Oxford said the facility is expected to open in late 2024 and generate more than 200 jobs in the city of Marlborough by 2026. Marlborough officials are considering a 20-year tax-increment financing request from Moderna, according to the Community Advocate, which was the first to report Moderna’s plan to buy the property.

READ ALSO: Getting Into the Heads of Life Science Clients

Moderna, a Cambridge, Mass.-based company that made one of the main COVID-19 vaccines, has been growing in recent years, adding manufacturing, lab and office space in the Boston life science market. In May 2021, the company announced it was expanding its Norwood, Mass., footprint by more than doubling its production lab space from 300,000 square feet to 650,000 square feet through the acquisition of another building on the same campus. The space was needed to increase its vaccine production capacity by 50 percent and support technical development capacity and preclinical production capability.

Several months later in October 2021, Moderna contracted with Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. to acquire its 325 Binney St. property in Cambridge, a 462,000-square-foot laboratory and office project that was already under construction. The company beat out other life science firms that were eying the cutting-edge facility that was designed to meet LEED Platinum Core & Shell, LEED Zero Energy and Fitwel certifications to operate as a net-zero commercial laboratory.

Ongoing demand

Chad Remis, executive vice president, North America, Oxford Properties, said in a prepared statement Oxford had planned to lease the asset and hold it for the long term, when Moderna made an unsolicited offer to buy the property. Remis said that request allowed Oxford to expedite its business plan execution. He said it’s a sign of the ongoing demand for cutting-edge GMP facilities and Oxford’s goal is to continue providing the highly technical real estate infrastructure through traditional leases, ground-up and purpose-built development, and sale-leaseback transactions.

Oxford’s North American cGMP portfolio currently has 1.4 million square feet with an additional development pipeline of about 600,000 square feet. The platform has 11 facilities across six markets, with the largest concentration in the Boston region. Since the beginning of 2021, Oxford has invested more than $3 billion in global life sciences and has identified an additional $5 billion of development opportunities. Oxford’s total life science portfolio has 8 million square feet of completed properties, conversion projects and ground-up developments including R&D labs and cGMP facilities in North America, the U.K. and continental Europe.

In February, Oxford completed its $125 million acquisition of 92 Crowley Drive, a 120,000-square-foot life science and GMP facility under construction in Marlborough. Resilience, a biomanufacturing and pharmaceuticals firm, sold the property to Oxford in a sale-leaseback transaction and will continue to occupy it for up to 30 more years. It was the third sale-leaseback transaction between Oxford and Resilience.

The post Moderna Pays $91M for Boston Life Science Property appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by
Alexander Kovacs via Unsplash.com

AEW Capital Management has sold Lincoln Plaza, a 127,505-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Hingham, Mass. Newmark brokered the $45.3 million transaction, working on behalf of the seller and procuring the buyer, a subsidiary of Jumbo Capital Inc.

CPT Lincoln Plaza LLC, an affiliate of Grossman Development Group LLC, purchased the shopping center in 2017 for $43.7 million, according to CommercialEdge data.

Completed in 1972, the retail center encompasses two buildings located on a 10.3-acre site. Lincoln Plaza is anchored by a 68,087-square-foot Stop & Shop supermarket and a 31,882-square-foot Marshalls department store. The property’s tenants include Jersey Mike’s, Verzion, Rockland Trust, Ninety Nine, Open Doors Yoga Studios and Evergrin Dental. At the time of the sale, the shopping center was 99 percent leased.

Lincoln Plaza is located at 400 Lincoln St., placing it 15 miles southeast of Boston. The property is adjacent to The Launch at Hingham Shipyard, a mixed-use development which comprises 150 townhomes, 235 apartments, 94 luxury condos and 30,000 square feet of office space.

Newmark Managing Directors Jon Martin and Paul Penman, along with Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Robert Griffin, represented the seller in the deal. Senior Financial Analyst Casey O’Brien and Financial Analyst Connor Scott provided financial analysis support for the transaction, with Managing Director Mathew Adler providing additional support.

The post AEW Sells Boston-Area Shopping Center for $45M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Granite Woods Commerce Center. Image courtesy of Port One Cos.

Port One Cos. is constructing Granite Woods Commerce Center, a 500,000-square-foot industrial project, in Hooksett, N.H. Newmark is the exclusive leasing agent for the property, which will deliver in early 2024.

Located at 47 Hackett Hill Road, the speculative Class A building will include 36-foot clear heights, LED lightning, an office built-to-suit component, two drive-in doors, 67 loading docks with 53  additional dock positions, 86 trailer parking spots and 403 other parking spots. Due to the project’s easily divisible footprint and its 360-degree truck lanes, it can accommodate a single, or multiple, tenants.

Situated on a 45-acre lot, the development is 9 miles from Manchester, N.H., 14 miles from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and within 11 miles of Concord, N.H. Additionally, the location’s proximity to interstates 93 and 293 will allow future occupants easy access to Portsmouth, N.H., Providence, R.I., and Boston.

Newmark Executive Managing Director Richard Ruggiero and Senior Managing Director Brian Pinch are the exclusive leasing agents for the project.

In December of last year, Trammell Crow Co. and Diamond Realty announced plans for the development of a 323,750-square-foot distribution facility in Merrimack, N.H., on a 43-acre site that was acquired from Ryker Co. That project, which secured financing from Santander Bank, is scheduled for completion in late 2023.

The post Newmark to Lease 500 KSF New Hampshire Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The 74M topping out ceremony. Image by Daniel Phillips, courtesy of Greystar

Greystar has topped out 74M, a 465,000-square-foot life science building in Somerville, Mass. The purpose-built development marks the company’s first ever project in the life sciences industry.

74M is coming to fruition in the context of the $1.2 billion joint venture created by Greystar and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board with the intention of developing life science projects. Under the terms of the agreement, Greystar acts as developer and property manager of the portfolio.

Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects and built by Consigli, the project is targeting LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum, SmartScore and WiredScore certifications. Completion is expected next spring.

READ ALSO: How to Build Flexibility Into Life Science Projects

The development rises at 74 Middlesex Ave., at the edge of the Assembly Square master-planned project that features more than 800,000 square feet of office space, 1,000 residential units, a hotel and a mix of restaurants, bars and shops.

“Somerville’s Assembly Square district is undergoing reimagination as a pillar of research and development and we’re thrilled for 74M to be part of that evolution,” Gary Kerr, managing director at Greystar, told Commercial Property Executive.

Greystar’s first life science project

Greystar began construction on 74M in June of last year, on a 0.9-acre parcel acquired for $35.7 million. In a recent interview with CPE, Kerr stated that the most challenging aspect of the project had been building in a municipality with an active, engaged constituency. However, the process was also very rewarding, he noted.

Upon completion, the building will include 27,000 square feet of retail space, according to CommercialEdge data. Amenities are set to include a 2,000-square-foot rooftop deck, wellness center and conference rooms, as well as bike storage. Along with the life science development, Greystar is also committed to the construction of a neighborhood park located at 0 Kensington Ave.

The development is just east of Interstate 93, accessible via the Assembly MBTA Orange Line station. More than 1,500 residential units, as well as dining, retail and entertainment options, are nearby. Downtown Boston is less than 4 miles southeast.

“With more than 1 million square feet of research space planned and in progress, Assembly Square is poised to be the next great innovation hub for the region,” Kerr said.

The post Greystar Tops Out Boston-Area Life Science Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

15 Necco St. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.

An affiliate of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc., along with National Development, have transferred a partial interest in a life science development at 15 Necco St. in Boston to a U.S. affiliate of Mori Trust Co. Ltd., Alexandria announced on Wednesday, April 12.

In a separate announcement, Newmark, which arranged the transaction, described the recapitalization as both the largest single-building life science transaction in the U.S. so far this year and as Mori Trust’s first life science transaction in this country. Financials on the deal were not disclosed.

Alexandria stated that proceeds will be used to fund the development of the 345,995-rentable-square-foot Class A project, which is expected to deliver late this year.

READ ALSO: VC Investment in Life Science Sector Is Healthy, But Slowing

The facility, in the Seaport Innovation District submarket, will be occupied by Eli Lilly and Co.’s Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine, which reportedly will leverage promising RNA- and DNA-based technologies.

The waterfront property, which overlooks Fort Point Channel and the Harborwalk, will feature a rooftop terrace, street-level retail space and alternative energy sources, including geothermal energy and on-site renewable electricity generation. The location offers convenient walkability to public transportation, as it’s just across the Summer Street Bridge from South Station, one of Boston’s primary multimodal transit hubs.

In addition, 15 Necco St. is targeting LEED Gold Core & Shell, Fitwel Life Science and WiredScore Platinum certifications.

Newmark co-head of U.S. Capital Markets Robert Griffin, Executive Vice Chairman Edward Maher, Vice Chairman Matthew Pullen and Managing Director Samantha Hallowell of the firm’s Boston Capital Markets Group and Newmark Vice Chairman Alex Foshay, divisional head of the firm’s International Capital Markets Group, represented the partial interest sellers and procured the buyer, Mori Trust Co. Ltd.’s U.S. subsidiary, MORI America LLC.

Newmark Senior Financial Analyst William Sleeper provided financial analysis support for the transaction.

Greater Boston’s life science market strong, but…

A March report from Cushman & Wakefield notes that Greater Boston’s dominance as a life science center continues to grow yet warns that more than 14.3 million square feet of space is in the development pipeline, of which about 40 percent is preleased.

The market is already tipping to favor tenants, the report states, with average vacancy across the metro at 9.9 percent.

Just since last summer, metro Boston has seen very substantial investments in its life science sector.

• Last August, BioMed Realty received $514 million in construction financing for the first phase of its 485,000-square-foot Assembly Innovation Park in Somerville, Mass.
• In September, a joint venture of CV Properties, Cannon Hill Capital Partners and L&B Realty Advisors landed $278 million in construction funding for Boynton Gateway, a 334,000-square-foot life science facility, also in Somerville
• And in October, Greatland Realty Partners and Rockwood Capital secured up to $150 million from The Royal Bank of Canada to redevelop and expand a 16-acre former Liberty Mutual office campus in Weston, Mass., into a 340,000-square-foot life science development, Riverside Labs.

The post Alexandria Recapitalizes Boston Life Science Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Woburn Village. Image courtesy of PGIM Real Estate

EDENS has obtained a $90 million, fixed-rate loan for two Class A retail properties, totaling 394,108 square feet, in Boston’s northern suburbs. PGIM Real Estate provided the seven-year financing.

The 201,965-square-foot Woburn Village in Woburn, Mass., and the 192,143-square-foot Burlington Crossroads in Burlington, Mass., are both unlevered and wholly owned. Each property underwent a recent redevelopment that added an organic grocery store and restaurants, as well as more entertainment options.

READ ALSO: Retail Property Redevelopment Strategies

Woburn Village came online in 1984, according to CommercialEdge information. EDENS purchased the property for $44 million in 2017 and completed its redevelopment in 2021. Anchored by Market Basket, a dominant grocer in the area, TJ Maxx/HomeGoods, HomeSense and DSW, the retail center is currently 97.9 percent leased.

EDENS acquired Burlington Crossroads in 1998 for $20.3 million, CommercialEdge data shows. The 1980-built property underwent a nearly $8 million renovation that was completed in 2014. The fully leased shopping center has Target, Total Wine & More, Marshalls and Michaels as anchor tenants.

Tom Goodsite, managing director at PGIM Real Estate, led the financing process. In a prepared statement, Goodsite noted that necessity-based retail is a resilient property sector where fundamentals will remain strong.

Economics of necessity

In the same necessity-based retail mode, last December EDENS acquired from Combined Properties Inc. three grocery-anchored shopping centers for a total of $136.8 million. The assets total more than 400,000 square feet and are all in dense, infill submarkets of Los Angeles County.

The metro Boston retail real estate market saw about 274,902 square feet of net absorption in the fourth quarter, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield. Arguably that isn’t much, but considering that the previous four quarters saw net absorption of at most 130,730 square feet, ranging down to negative 137,787, local landlords are probably happy to see the upturn.

The metro’s average retail vacancy was 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter, versus a nationwide average of 5.7 percent, also according to Cushman & Wakefield data.

The post EDENS Lands $90M for 2 Boston-Area Shopping Centers appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by Sean Pavone/iStockphoto.com

Since the pandemic shook up the office sector, most markets have been struggling with absorption of new supply. As vacancy rates keep rising, the national office pipeline has been gradually deflating.

Boston is one of the few markets that seem to have come out of the past few years’ hurdles on a positive note. The metro now holds the largest under-construction office supply in the nation, surpassing Manhattan. Backed by a strong university hub, the city is one of the biggest centers for life science and research, bolstering the need for lab office space.

As of January, Boston’s office pipeline comprised 12.9 million square feet of under-construction space, representing 5.4 percent of the metro’s total stock, according to CommercialEdge data. At that point in time, Manhattan’s pipeline had shrunk to 9.9 million square feet, with Dallas (7.4 million square feet), Austin (6.7 million square feet) and San Francisco (6.5 million square feet)—the top five markets by total square footage under construction—making up more than a quarter of all new supply in the U.S.

Boston’s share of the national office pipeline has been increasing steadily since before the pandemic: In January 2020, under-construction product in Boston accounted for 6.9 percent of the national stock and 15 percent of total office space in the making in gateway cities. By 2023, these figures had ballooned to 10.5 and 26.8 percent.

More than half of Boston’s office pipeline is life science space

As of January, life science buildings amounted to 13.7 percent of Boston’s total existing office supply. By comparison, the national rate was 2.6 percent, while San Diego’s rate—another major life science hub—reached 12.1 percent. In the first month of 2023, Boston’s office market saw 9.9 million square feet of lab space in the making, representing a whopping 54.8 percent of total office space under construction. Nationally, 16.4 percent of the January under-construction office pipeline was life science space, CommercialEdge data shows.

Fenway Center. Image courtesy of IQHQ

In April 2021, life sciences REIT IQHQ Inc. and local co-developer Meredith Management broke ground on one of the largest office projects still under construction in Boston, dubbed Fenway Center. At full buildout, the $1 billion campus will comprise two towers totaling 960,000 square feet of lab space and will aim for LEED Gold certification.

One Congress at Bulfinch Crossing, another large-scale office development for Boston, is nearing completion in the heart of Downtown. Developed by a joint venture of Carr Properties, National Real Estate Advisors and The HYM Investment Group, the 44-story tower will yield nearly 978,000 square feet of premier office space.

Boston was a magnet for construction starts in 2022

While in other gateway cities construction starts slowed in 2022, in Boston numerous office projects gained financing and started rising. Last year, the city was the U.S. market with the most office starts, totaling 7.2 million square feet. Among newly commenced office space, 73 percent was within the life science sector. In Manhattan, the nation’s biggest office market, only 1.6 million square feet of new product broke ground last year.

FORUM at 60 Guest St. Image courtesy of Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge

In September 2022, Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge commenced construction on their $500 million FORUM life science project, marking the partners’ first collaboration within the sector. The 350,000-square-foot building will aim for a LEED Platinum certification.

In January, Boston’s listing rate registered the largest year-over-year decrease among gateway cities, 4.9 percent, reaching $36.50 per square foot. Among these markets, the metro had the second smallest average listing rate that month, after Chicago ($27.80 per square foot). Manhattan is still the priciest market to rent office space in, bearing a $75.70 listing rate, followed by San Francisco ($67.40 per square foot) and the Bay Area ($57.10 per square foot).

Transaction activity was high in 2022

In 2022, Boston’s office sales volume amounted to $4.71 billion—the second largest in the country, after Manhattan ($6.01 billion). Prices per square foot were highest in San Francisco ($930), Manhattan ($733), Seattle ($542) and Brooklyn ($532), with Boston coming in fifth with an average sale price of $491.

One Patriots Park. Image courtesy of Newmark

Last November, MetLife Investment Management completed its $103 million purchase of the 109,085-square-foot Burlington BioCenter in Burlington, Mass. Originally designed as an office property, in 2019 the building was converted to life science use. Prior to this deal, another suburban Boston-area lab facility changed ownership. Barings picked up the 144,000-square-foot One Patriots Park in Bedford, Mass., for $132 million.

In January, coworking space represented 1.7 percent of total office product in the market. Boston’s rate was close to the national average, making up 1.8 percent of total stock. Manhattan (2.7 percent), Los Angeles (2.3 percent) and Chicago (2.0 percent) were the metros that led the nation in terms of flex space relative to total office stock. In November 2022, Industrious expanded its Boston coworking footprint, marking the flex office provider’s seventh location in the metro.

The post Market Report: Boston Leads US Office Pipeline appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Gary Kerr, Managing Director of Development, Greystar. Image courtesy of Greystar

On the lookout for new development and growth opportunities, Greystar formalized its entry into the life sciences sector last year by breaking ground on 74M in Somerville, Mass., a northern suburb of Boston. The 15-story development designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects will add to the life sciences cluster forming in the bustling Assembly Square area, which already includes more than 1 million square feet of permitted projects. 

“If the conditions are right, we are in a position to pounce on a project, but we also have the benefit of being patient,” Managing Director for Greystar Development Services in the Northeast region, Gary Kerr, told Commercial Property Executive.

Completion of 74M is slated for early next year, and Greystar is looking to grow its life science presence nationally. Here’s what else Kerr shared about the company’s foray into the life sciences industry, as well as the sector’s outlook in Massachusetts.

READ ALSO: Exploring Redevelopment Opportunities Within Life Sciences

What prompted Greystar’s debut on the life sciences stage?

Kerr: Broadening the company’s focuses will allow Greystar to continue to grow for years to come. Entering the life sciences vertical was a long-term goal for Greystar and we are incredibly proud to be an active player in this space.

While we may be newcomers as an organization, we have significant experience within our ranks to leverage, and a keen understanding of how to build spaces people want to be in. We believe that deep connection with tenants and the tremendous backing of our strategic direction will facilitate strong success within this asset class.

Tell us more about 74M, your first life sciences lab office development.

Kerr: 74M is a 465,000-square-foot, purpose-built life sciences development designed for the next generation of the industry. Tenants of 74M will also enjoy an array of best-in-class amenities and unobstructed views of the Boston/Cambridge skyline and Mystic River.

Location is a big part of 74M’s value proposition, with immediate access to the housing, restaurants, shopping, and other destinations of the Assembly Square neighborhood. There is also direct access to the Assembly MBTA Orange Line, proximity to Kendall Square, and unparalleled visibility adjacent to Interstate 93.

What has been most challenging about this project so far? 

Kerr: When you build in a municipality with an active, engaged constituency, it can be challenging. There are a lot of community meetings and a lot of opinions on proposed projects. That was certainly the case with 74M, though I will also note that it was a positive, rewarding experience. We benefitted tremendously from meeting with neighborhood groups and figuring out how we could use this development to make broader improvements to Assembly Square with the creation of additional green spaces and improved connectivity with the surrounding area.

On another note, the City of Somerville did a very good job laying the process out, which provided us with greater predictability and understanding of the timeline needed. Having a high degree of confidence in how long it will take to get shovels in the ground is very important, and we appreciate the municipal partnership throughout the process.

Tell us more about the project’s green features.

Kerr: Greystar is focused on sustainability across the entire lifecycle of the project including design, construction and operations. 74M is targeting LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum, WiredScore Platinum, and SmartScore certification.

Key building features include a high-performing building envelope and high-efficiency building systems design to transition to zero-carbon emissions over time. Occupant wellness is also prioritized through real estate, operations and human resource programs focused on employee health and safety.

Greystar shows interest in Class B/C office buildings. Do plans include converting them to life sciences spaces?

Kerr: The looming debt maturation is poised to have a significant impact on the office landscape in markets across the country. One very likely result is landlords taking a loss on B/C office buildings in the wake of diminished demand. There is a lot of discussion about converting these office buildings to different uses, like housing and life sciences.

We have concerns with the feasibility of these conversions due to the specific needs of intended uses. For example, in lab space, the floorplate and ceiling height needs are much different than your standard office design.

Attempting to shoehorn a lab into a traditional office can be done, but you’re very likely to wind up with an inferior product that will make it challenging to compete for tenants against purpose-built life sciences buildings. For that reason, we are partial to ground-up development to create labs with intentionality with specs that suit the needs of occupants.

READ ALSO: Life Science Outlook Remains Strong—Cushman & Wakefield

Following a staggering growth during the health crisis, what is your outlook on the life sciences sector? How sustainable is the current performance?

Kerr: I believe we are starting to see a sort of correction hitting the industry stemming from increased rates and the end of free money. Companies are getting leaner in many respects, which may play out for some time.

That being said, I am bullish on the long-term health of this industry. Here in Massachusetts, it is a critical element of our regional economy and a great point of pride. We cannot get complacent about this advantage, though, and need to ensure that other locations’ attractiveness does not usurp that of Massachusetts.

What challenges do you anticipate for the sector in the upcoming years?

Kerr: Like so many organizations, the current economic climate and associated uncertainty have hit this industry. In Massachusetts, we’re seeing a lot of discussion around the competitiveness of the state in attracting and retaining businesses and the workforce. Life sciences is a critical component of that.

Consider the current workforce. Getting around this area can be incredibly frustrating, whether by car or public transportation. Housing offers limited inventory and some of the highest costs in the country.

And then there’s the prospective workforce. Creating additional research capacity is getting increasingly challenging due to lengthy, complicated entitlement processes while costs continue to rise. If a project is not economically viable, a developer won’t pursue it. Or they will pursue it in a different market.

We enjoy a tremendous competitive advantage here in Massachusetts, but if we do not address these active pain points, life sciences companies will look elsewhere. 

The post How Greystar Is Breathing New Life (Science) Into Its Strategy appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Industrious has opened Industrious Harvard Square, a 21,550-square-foot coworking space in Cambridge, Mass., marking the firm’s first location within the Boston submarket. The company partnered with owner Carpenter & Co. Inc. to lease the fifth floor at Charles Square, a 115,000-square-foot general office building.

The new space will encompass 240 dedicated desks, 47 offices suitable for one to 20 people, four suites, 12 phone booths and one focus room. Amenities include private conference rooms, access to office supplies and color printing, mail and packaging services, a wellness room, daily breakfast and craft coffee, as well as access to community events.

While Cambridge is a high barrier to entry submarket and Boston being one of Industrious’ top-performing markets, the new space will fill a gap in an important area close to the country’s most esteemed Ivy League institution, mentioned Doug Feinberg, senior director of real estate at Industrious, in a prepared statement.

Located at 20 University Road, the space is next to Harvard Kennedy School and within half a mile of Harvard University. Several businesses, retail and dining options at Harvard Square are within walking distance of the location.

The space marks Industrious’ seventh location in the area, in addition to Legacy Place, another 35,441-square-foot flex office space in Dedham, Mass., which opened in November last year. More recently, the firm entered the Charleston market with a 34,028-square-foot coworking space at 677 King St.

The post Industrious Opens 1st Cambridge Location appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Rendering of 176 Lincoln. Image courtesy of Berkeley Investments

Berkeley Investments has received the authorities’ approval for the development of 176 Lincoln, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development to include Class A lab and R&D space, offices and residential units in Boston. The company plans to break ground on the project in 2024, with completion expected in 2028.

Designed by architect CBT as an innovation village, 176 Lincoln will rise on a 5.2-acre site that was vacant for the last 35 years. The project is slated to feature two commercial buildings encompassing a total of 720,000 square feet of R&D, laboratory and office space, as well as 252 apartments spread across three four-story buildings, 2 acres of open space and underground parking.

While the office buildings will aim for LEED Gold, the residential units will be 100 percent electrical, to reach a 90 percent reduction in fossil fuel use, targeting passive house certification. The community will include 45 affordable units and offer artists 10 live and work units, as well as 10,000 square feet of affordable retail space, as a result of a partnership with local arts non-profit Artisan’s Asylum.

READ ALSO: Life Science Outlook Remains Strong

The mixed-use project will rise along Interstate 90, adjacent to the Harvard Allston campus, less than 6 miles from downtown Boston. The transit-oriented development will also be within walking distance to Boston Landing train station, providing easy access to the city’s main points of interest.

The 176 Lincoln project will benefit from its proximity to Harvard’s expansion of academic and cultural facilities throughout the Allston section. Berkeley Senior Vice President Morgan Pierson stated, in prepared remarks, that the mixed-use development could become a focal point in an area that is undergoing a rapid growth for the life science sector, which already includes Boston Landing, the headquarters of New Balance and SmartLabs.

Berkeley has previously developed another Boston-area mixed-use project in Malden, Mass. The 300,000-square-foot lab and life science building came online in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Boston, a hub for life science development

In the second half of last year, several major life science projects were announced in Boston. Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge broke ground on a $500 million development in the heart of Boston Landing, in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood. Completion is scheduled for 2024.

Around the same period, Boynton Gateway became subject to a $278 million construction loan. The 334,000-square-foot life science facility, located in Somerville, Mass., is slated for delivery in the third quarter of 2024.

Another significant project emerged in February, as Trammell Crow Co. completed the early stages of planning a two-phase, 1 million-square-foot redevelopment of two neighboring parcels along Soldiers Field Road. Upon completion, the mixed-use campus will include 771,000 square feet of life science, office and retail space, together with 200 affordable apartments.

The post Berkeley Investments to Build Boston Life Science Campus appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

101 Smith Place. Rendering courtesy of The Davis Cos.

The Davis Cos., in partnership with Invesco Real Estate, has topped off the second phase of The Quad, a 520,000-square-foot, 9.8-acre life science campus in Cambridge, Mass. The upcoming 101 Smith Place is a 161,616-square-foot, Class A lab development, one of the four redeveloped buildings within the master-planned community.

The project is slated for delivery in the fourth quarter of this year. According to CommercialEdge information, the four-story 101 Smith Place is subject to a $118.8 million Wells Fargo Bank loan, set to mature in 2024.

The purpose-built life science building is certified to the LEED Gold level and will feature 15- to 18-foot floor-to-floor heights, a fitness center, surface and below-grade parking, as well as bike stations and indoor bike storage. Additionally, the development is set to include a mechanical penthouse with a central chiller and hot water plant with AHU and lab exhaust.

READ ALSO: Life Science Companies Expand Talent Search Beyond Clusters

At full build-out, the property will also incorporate move-in ready spec suites and access to various campus amenities located in the West Cambridge neighborhood, including Kendall Kitchen, newly installed bike lanes, outdoor patios and dedicated shuttle services to Alewife Station.

Boston life science market shows continued growth

Ginko Bioworks, Civetta Therapeutics, Invaio Sciences, Hyperion and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd are among the tenants at The Quad. CBRE Executive Vice President Eric Smith, Vice President McKenna Teague, along with Senior Associate Tess Chandler will be overseeing leasing at 101 Smith Place.

CBRE research indicates that in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Greater Boston market received more than 1 million square feet of new R&D space, of which 73.8 percent was preleased. By the end of the year, the metro area had 15.3 million square feet of R&D space under construction, with Cambridge accounting for 4.1 million square feet of that.

According to the same source, during the same quarter, the life science market in Cambridge recorded a positive absorption of 51,500 square feet, resulting in a total of more than 1 million square feet for the last year. CBRE also reported that the availability rate in Cambridge decreased by 40 basis points from 13.8 percent to 13.4 percent, while the vacancy rate increased by 90 basis points to a still tight 2.1 percent. Additionally, the sublease rate in Cambridge increased by 10 basis points, reaching 3.9 percent.

The post The Davis Cos. Tops Off Greater Boston Lab Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image by Karsten Winegeart via Unsplash

Benderson Development has acquired 330-340 River St., a 54,226-square-foot retail asset in Cambridge, Mass. Newmark brokered the $26.4 million transaction on behalf of the seller, Acadia Realty Trust.

The property encompasses a two-story, 40,800-square-foot Whole Foods Market and an adjacent 13,426-square-foot Walgreens store. The larger building was custom-built for the retailer in 2001.

Located in the Cambridgeport neighborhood, the asset sits between Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downtown Cambridge is some 4 miles from the property, while H Mart Cambridge, Target, Trader Joe’s and Black Sheep Market are also nearby.

Acadia Realty Trust received capital markets advisory services from Newmark’s Boston Capital Markets group, which included Co-Head Robert Griffin, Vice Chairman Geoffrey Millerd, as well as Managing Directors Jon Martin and Paul Penman.

While demand for other asset classes may have slowed down, high-quality retail investments remain very liquid, said Penman in a prepared statement. In a recent deal, a 65,155-square-foot Whole Foods Market parcel at Plymouth Meeting Mall in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., changed hands. Earlier this month, a partnership between Grossman Development Group, Long Term Capital and Equity Industrial also invested in a grocery-anchored asset in Westborough, Mass.

The post Benderson Buys Cambridge Retail Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

92 Crowley. Image courtesy of Oxford Properties Group

Oxford Properties Group has completed its $125 million acquisition of 92 Crowley Drive, a 120,000-square-foot life science and good manufacturing practice (GMP) facility under construction in Marlborough, Mass. Biomanufacturing and pharmaceuticals firm Resilience sold the asset in a sale-leaseback transaction and will continue to occupy it for up to 30 more years.

The deal marks the third transaction between Oxford and Resilience, the previous two having also been sale-leasebacks.

A larger GMP facility

The story of 92 Crowley began in 2015, when the development site was purchased by LFB USA from First Colony Development Co. for $2.6 million. In 2016, the buyer broke ground on a $37 million, 70,000-square-foot drug manufacturing facility on location and sold it back to First Colony in 2018. Resilience acquired the asset in 2022, beginning construction of an additional 35,000 square feet of space that is expected to come online later this year.

READ ALSO: High-IQ Investment: IQHQ’s Tracy Murphy on Life Science Real Estate

Upon completion, as a designated GMP facility, the building will have dedicated spaces for manufacturing, product analysis and business operations. The facility will feature modular manufacturing equipment housed within dedicated production suites, in addition to office and warehouse space. Situated within 3 miles of central Marlborough, the property is 2 miles from interstates 290 and 495, providing quick access to much of metro Boston’s dense cluster of life science research, development and manufacturing facilities.

Oxford’s life science endeavors

The purchase of 92 Crowley brings Oxford’s North America portfolio of GMP assets to seven buildings spanning 1.4 million square feet, with an additional 1 million square feet in the pipeline. The firm’s Boston footprint amounts to 621,000 square feet across five properties. Executive Vice President Chad Remis said, in prepared remarks, that GMP facilities are unique, highly technical assets and represent a segment of the life sciences market in which Oxford has intentionally set out to become a market leader.

In recent months, Oxford has both made investments and planned out developments in several of the nation’s largest life science markets. In October 2022, the firm purchased Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ three-building, 250,000-square-foot San Diego-area base of operations for $158 million. On the development side, the firm announced a partnership with Ensemble/Mosaic that will see the creation of a 3 million-square-foot campus in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard that is expected to cost $1.5 billion.

The post Oxford Properties Pays $125M for Boston-Area Life Science Asset appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

179 Lincoln. Image courtesy of EQ Office

EQ Office has completed its repositioning and redevelopment of 179 Lincoln, a five-story, 221,474-square-foot historic Class A office building located at 179 Lincoln St. in Boston. The project was designed and overseen by Atelier Cho Thompson, which worked to both preserve the building’s original design and provide a work environment that takes current office work trends into account.

Built in 1899, the property originally housed a shoe factory. The building underwent a full adaptive reuse conversion to office spaces in 1976, and in 2008 had a gut renovation that earned it LEED Silver certification, according to CommercialEdge information.

At present, the building is owned by Blackstone, which had acquired it in 2020 from previous owner Invesco Real Estate for $156 million, as reported by the Boston Business Journal. Following the purchase, the buyer tapped EQ Office, its office real estate investment and property management subsidiary, for responsibilities to the latter.

The building’s current amenities include a fitness center, parking garage, bike storage room and 700 square feet of retail space, the same source shows. Situated in Boston’s Central Business District, the space is located at the center of the city’s top commercial area, flanked by myriad retail, dining and entertainment options, alongside quick access to both public transportation and an on-ramp to the Interstate 93.

READ ALSO: Designs, Amenities and Upgrades for the New Office

Currently, 179 Lincoln is leased to several tenants, primarily involved in the advertising, digital media and business analytics industries including Outfront, Smartsheet and BlueConic, CommercialEdge shows. Newmark Senior Managing Director Matthew George currently serves as the building’s leasing broker.

A newly repositioned common area in 179 Lincoln, complete with exposed brick. Image courtesy of EQ Office

Atelier Cho Thompson’s new repositioning changes include an expansion and reconstruction of the building’s lobby and common-area amenities with a new material arrangement that includes plaster, stone, wood and metal. According to Britton Derkac, National Head of Leasing at EQ Office, the goal of the repositioning was to pay tribute to the space’s historic roots, an increasingly popular amenity across the city’s office market.

As Derkac said in prepared remarks, this boutique brick and beam space in a market dominated by office towers has created a unique environment within Boston. The new lobby spans the entirety of the building’s height. Additionally, the firm has preserved the space’s exterior facade, and has reopened its exposed brick and beam skeleton, paying tribute to its days as a factory.

A repositioned office sector

The building’s repositioning takes place as office developers and operators adapt to new uses of and visions for their space, seeking to create a commute-worthy experience for their tenants. Recently, developers have taken to prioritizing the creation of open, green, naturally-lit spaces to foster a work environment that facilitates social interaction. Often, such projects have seen the changes to entire floor plans.

In a similar endeavor, EQ office completed its redevelopment of 800 Fifth, a 934,806-square-foot office building in Seattle. Similar to 179 Lincoln, this project saw the construction of a new lobby, public garden and outdoor plaza, in addition to modernized amenity spaces.

The post EQ Office Repositions Historic Boston Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Bay State Commons. Image by Jason Hughes, courtesy of Grossman Development Group

Grossman Development Group, in partnership with Long Term Capital and Equity Industrial, has acquired Bay State Commons, a 261,672-square-foot mixed-use development in Westborough, Mass. According to CommercialEdge, the seller of the primarily retail asset was Philips International.

The new owner paid $11 million for the asset, as revealed by Boston Business Journal. The company intends to invest in property enhancements, including new sidewalks, revamped landscaping and signage, as well as community events. Retail leasing is being handled by Kelleher & Sodowsky Executive Vice President Todd Alexander.

Anchored by supermarket Roche Bros., Bay State Commons is a 2-acre community center encompassing an array of dining, shopping, as well as health and wellness offerings. Boston Interiors, Reliant Medical, Boston Ski & Tennis, Ted’s Montana Grill and Panera Bread are among the tenant.

In addition to retail, Bay State Commons also encompasses office space. The property was completed in 2007 and also incorporates medical offices and restaurants, as shown by CommercialEdge.

Owners of retail properties are facing challenges in adapting to the shifting ways in which their spaces are utilized by customers, retailers and operators. The constant evolution of the retail sector is causing stress on owners to re-envision their properties and determine the optimal mix of uses.

The post Grossman Acquires Boston-Area Property appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Image courtesy of Trammell Crow Co.

Trammell Crow Co. is in the early stages of planning a two-phase, 1 million-square-foot redevelopment project in Boston. Upon completion, the mixed-use campus will include three Class A properties featuring 771,000 square feet of life science, office and retail space, together with 200 affordable apartments built in partnership with nonprofit developer The Community Builders.

The redevelopment project, to come online on 7 acres along Soldiers Field Road in the Brighton section of Boston, will cover two neighboring parcels. The site has not changed much since the 1950s and includes the International House of Pancakes, the former Days Inn, surface parking lots and several car dealerships.

READ ALSO: Exploring Redevelopment Opportunities Within Life Sciences

The developers are still working through the entitlement process so a specific timetable for the two phases is not available yet. However, initial plans call for the first phase to occur on the sites located at 1600 Soldiers Field Road and 15 Soldiers Field Place. Once infrastructure required to support the residential buildings is completed, TCC will donate the land to TCB to develop two communities with 100 units to be constructed in each phase.

A two-phase redevelopment

Phase One is set to comprise two commercial buildings of 153,000 and 338,000 square feet, respectively, that will take shape near one residential property. They will have a mix of life science, office and ground-floor retail space.

The third and final commercial building will be constructed in the second phase at 1800 and 1850 Soldiers Field Road and have approximately 230,000 square feet of space. Phase Two will also include the second and final 100-unit residential building.

Sam Schaefer, principal with TCC in Boston, said in prepared remarks the commercial component of the mixed-use redevelopment project will add to the growing and much-needed life science space in Boston, which continues to be the number one hub for life science in the nation.

As part of the master plan, TCC will also coordinate with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to improve the Leo M. Birmingham Park and Parkway and upgrade the Interstate 90 underpasses.

TCC’s life science projects

As of September 30, TCC had $19.5 billion of ongoing projects, with $13.5 billion in its pipeline. Although most of its recent activity across the U.S. pertains to industrial spaces, TCC has also been developing several life science properties.

In December, TCC and Washington Capital Management broke ground on an 11-story, 282,700-square-foot life science development in Seattle’s Denny Triangle neighborhood. With delivery expected by December 2024, the building is taking shape near Boren Lofts, a 10-story, 136,217-square-foot life science property completed last year by the joint venture.

Last May, TCC announced it would be developing the first phase of a life science project with 757,000 square feet of lab and R&D space across three buildings on The Johns Hopkins University’s Belward campus in the Shady Grove area of Montgomery County, Md. Ultimately the project could have up to seven buildings totaling about 1.6 million square feet on the 20.6-acre site.

The post Trammell Crow Eyes 1 MSF Boston Mixed-Use Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

50 Robert Milligan Parkway. Image courtesy of Trammell Crow Co.

A joint venture between Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and Diamond Realty Investments has acquired 43 acres of land for the construction of a 323,750-square-foot industrial distribution facility in Merrimack, N.H. The site’s previous owner was Rykel Co. Inc., according to CommercialEdge data. The project is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Public records show that the joint venture took out a $32.6 million construction loan from Santander Bank. The development team includes Macgregor Associates as architect and Bohler as civil engineering consultant, while RC Anderson will serve as general contractor. In addition, CBRE has been tapped to market and lease the property.

The multi-tenant facility will come online at 50 Robert Milligan Parkway. Upon delivery, the warehouse will feature 36-foot clear heights, 48-foot by 52-foot column spacing, 53 dock doors and an ESFR sprinkler system, in addition to 2,000 square feet of office space.

Situated just east of Everett Turnpike, the development site is within 11 miles of the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, in addition to having quick access to intermodal rail infrastructure. Downtown Boston is some 50 miles south.

READ ALSO: Trends That Will Shape Industrial Real Estate in 2023

Elisha Long, senior vice president at TCC’s Boston office, detailed the facility’s location further to Commercial Property Executive;  “Located within an hour’s drive of Boston, 50 Robert Milligan Parkway is an ideal location for users looking for high-quality industrial space in a supply constrained market. The location affords connectivity to Boston and the larger MSA via multiple highways and is, importantly, easily accessible to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, which serves as a major cargo hub. The site is also accessible to a large pool of talent, which is appealing to companies looking to either enter or expand their footprint in and around the Boston region.”

Trammell Crow triumphs

With 73 million square feet under construction nationwide at the end of June, TCC was the nation’s largest developer of commercial space in 2022, according to a recent Commercial Property Executive ranking.

The firm’s current high-profile industrial development endeavors include a partnership with CBRE Investment Management for the construction of the Cochrane Technology Center, a five-building, 500,000-square-foot industrial project in Silicon Valley.

Also, in October, TCC broke ground on the 600,000-square-foot third phase of the Golden Triangle Logistics Center in Las Vegas. At full build-out, the industrial park will encompass nearly 2.9 million square feet.

The post Trammell Crow JV to Build New Hampshire Industrial Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Burlington BioCenter. Image courtesy of Newmark

MetLife Investment Management has completed its $103 million purchase of Burlington BioCenter, a 109,085-square-foot life science research and pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Burlington, Mass. Public records show MetLife financed the acquisition with a $54.4 million loan from Northwestern Mutual.

Newmark represented the seller, a joint venture between The Gutierrez Company and GEM Realty Capital, and procured the buyer. The partnership had acquired the property in 2019 for $23.4 million, according to CommercialEdge information.

Situated on 4.6 acres at 4 Burlington Woods Drive, Burlington BioCenter came online in 2014 as an office building and was converted to life science space in 2019. The property is fully leased by Ultivue, ProtaGene and CANbridge.

READ ALSO: Exploring Redevelopment Opportunities Within Life Sciences

Located just north of Interstate 95, the facility is close to an increasing number of similarly purposed properties within 12 miles of Boston and Cambridge, the nation’s largest and most sought-after market for life science investment and development.

Newmark Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Robert Griffin, Executive Vice Chairman Edward Maher, Vice Chairman Matthew Pullen and Managing Director Samantha Howell negotiated on behalf of the seller. In addition, Executive Managing Directors Douvadjian and Timothy O’Donnell, of the firm’s Boston Debt & Structured Finance Group, secured acquisition financing for the buyer.

Boston’s life science boom

With its dense number of research universities, hospitals and biotech companies, coupled with a flourishing office sector, the Boston metro remains one of the nation’s brightest markets, even in the face of a looming economic downturn and persistent headwinds. According to a third quarter 2022 report by Lincoln Property Co., the area had 17 million square feet of life science-purposed space under construction at the end of September, in addition to one of the nation’s lowest vacancy rates at 0.3 percent.

Understanding the strength of the market, Pullen told Commercial Property Executive, “Burlington BioCenter’s sale and lease-up are indicative of the fact that quality laboratory product is still experiencing an exceptional amount of investor demand and tenant activity despite the macro-economic headwinds that characterize today’s market.”

In October, The 105 by Breakthrough, a 263,000-square-foot facility leased by CRISPR, entered the metro’s life science inventory. The building was developed by Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital that had secured $3 billion in funds for the financing, construction and development of a global life science portfolio.

Some 6 miles from The 105, a planned mixed-use development dubbed Allston LabWorks is taking shape near Harvard University. Developers King Street Properties, Brookfield and Mugar Enterprises recently secured a $585 million construction loan for the 580,900-square-foot, life science-centric project.

The post MetLife Adds Boston Life Science Asset for $103M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Industrious Legacy Place. Image courtesy of Industrious

Industrious has opened Industrious Legacy Place, a new coworking location in Dedham, Mass., marking the company’s seventh flex office space in the Boston MSA. Industrious Legacy Place is part of a 675,000-square-foot retail center owned by WS Development, according to CommercialEdge data.

Industrious Legacy Place encompasses a total of 400 seats and 35,441 square feet of private offices and suites, as well as 13 conference rooms, suitable for both larger team meetings and private individuals. Amenities at the pet-friendly coworking space include lounges, a library, an outdoor space with dining options, a wellness room, community events and daily breakfast and craft coffee. Anthropologie, Whole Foods Market, Sweetgreen and West Elm are among the other tenants of the retail center.

Located at 770 Legacy Place, the coworking space is within half a mile of interstates 95 and 93, which connect it to Boston, some 21 miles northeast. Dedham’s historical city center is less than 1.5 miles away and several green areas are within walking distance of the space.

Industrious’ portfolio encompasses more than 100 coworking locations across 20+ U.S. markets, as well as several flex office spaces in the U.K., Europe and Asia. Recently, the company opened Industrious Capital Riverfront, a 41,245-square-foot coworking space in Washington, D.C.

The post Industrious Expands Boston-Area Coworking Footprint appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

585 Kendall groundbreaking. Image courtesy of BioMed Realty

BioMed Realty has broken ground on its 600,000-square-foot 585 Kendall life science project in the Kendall Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass.

The building, also known as 585 Third St., has been preleased in its entirety by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Reportedly the largest life science employer in Massachusetts, Takeda took a 15-year lease.

A dollar value on 585 Kendall was not disclosed.

Takeda already occupies space at 650 E. Kendall and will become that building’s sole tenant by expanding into two more floors there.

585 Kendall is scheduled for occupancy in 2026 and, in addition to 600,000 square feet of R&D and office space, the project will feature a 30,000-square-foot performing arts center, including a 400-seat theater, 150-seat commons stage set in an indoor garden, a rehearsal studio, and ground-floor gathering spaces. The building will pursue LEED Gold certification.

READ ALSO: Life Science Outlook Remains Strong

The performing arts center will be launched in collaboration with Global Arts Live, a Cambridge-based nonprofit concert presenter with 30-plus years of experience showcasing music and dance from around the globe.

BioMed, a Blackstone portfolio company, has committed to spend $45 million to build and equip the performing arts center. The developer and Global Arts Live have created a new nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, 585 Arts Inc., and Global Arts Live will be conducting a $15 million fundraising campaign to launch and sustain 585 Arts.

Not easy at the top

Although the Boston-area life science market’s dominance endures and will continue, the current situation is mixed, with solid preleasing and nearly 1 million square feet of absorption in recent months contrasting with a rapid increase in overall vacancy and a rising inventory of sublease space, according to a third-quarter report from Newmark.

Sublease space now totals 1.4 million square feet, and leasing in the third quarter consisted mostly of smaller to mid-sized deals, Newmark reported. With scales shifting toward tenants, plus inflation and interest rates rising, the company stated, “Upwards of 80 percent of the 40 million square feet of proposed or permitted developments could be curtailed….”

In August, BioMed scored $514 million in construction financing for the first phase of its Assembly Innovation Park, a 485,000-square-foot life science project in Somerville, Mass.

The post Art Meets Science: BioMed Realty Kickstarts Boston-Area Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Blue Hills Medical Center. Image courtesy of Anchor Health Properties

Anchor Health Properties has acquired Blue Hills Medical Center, a 47,350-square-foot building in Braintree, Mass. The price was $15.3 million, according to Norfolk County records, which also show that Synovus Bank provided a $39.2 million loan for the acquisition.

Anchor Health purchased the asset through its discretionary equity fund, Chestnut Healthcare Fund II, co-managed with Chestnut Funds.

According to CommercialEdge data, the property last changed hands in 2018 when its previous owner, Novaya Real Estate Ventures, acquired the building for $11.6 million. The asset was also subject to an $8.5 million loan, originated by Cambridge Savings Bank.

The Class B building was originally completed in 1982 and underwent renovations between 2018 and 2022. Anchor Health will provide property and asset management for Blue Hills Medical Center.

The two-story medical office building has an on-site pharmacy and offers 272 parking spaces. Clinical health-care services include primary care, bariatrics, rehabilitation, laboratory service, ophthalmology, dentistry and psychiatry. At the time of the sale, the building was 94 percent leased and the tenant roster features Minton Pediatrics, Blue Hills Medical Associates, Mass General Brigham, Quest Diagnostics and Jack and Jill Pediatric Dentistry.

The property is located at 340 Wood Road, 11 miles from downtown Boston, and adjacent to Interstate 93. Other medical facilities in the surrounding area include Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital and South Shore Hospital.

Newmark’s Senior Managing Director Michael Greely represented the seller in the transaction.

Anchor Health’s investment plans

Anchor Health is looking for more opportunities in the surrounding market, as this current investment expands the company’s portfolio across the Boston MSA and its northeast footprint, according to prepared remarks by Anchor’s Chief Investment Officer & Managing Partner James Schmid and Vice President of Investment Ilya Hvostikov.

Anchor has been an active investor this month. In a partnership with Harrison Street, the company paid $14.9 million for a 31,886-square-foot medical office building in Delray Beach, Fla. Through its Chestnut Healthcare Fund II, Anchor also acquired a 96,357-square-foot property in Creek, Ga.

The company is looking to close on several other transactions by the end of the year, Schmid also announced.

The post Anchor Health Expands Footprint in Metro Boston appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Riverside Labs. Image courtesy of Gensler

Greatland Realty Partners and Rockwood Capital are moving forward with their Riverside Labs project in Weston, Mass., after securing financing. Working on behalf of the joint venture, Newmark procured the lender, The Royal Bank of Canada, which will provide up to $150 million for the project.

Greatland acquired the former Liberty Mutual campus, a two-building office property with 245,000 square feet on 16 acres, in December 2020. The following spring, the firm was able to rezone the site to allow for life science uses and additional density. As a result, the new ownership began a phased renovation on the existing construction along with the development of a new facility.

Weston’s upcoming campus

Renamed as Riverside Labs, the future life science campus will total 340,000 square feet across three buildings. Greatland and Rockwood are conducting a full renovation of the 120,000-square-foot 9 Riverside while doing a lab conversion of the 90,000-square-foot 20 Riverside. The joint venture’s addition to the campus will be a 130,000-square-foot facility dubbed 15 Riverside.

The project will also include a new parking garage and a 10,000-square-foot expansion to 9 Riverside that will serve as gathering space and food hall. Riverside Labs’ first building is expected to be ready for tenant occupancy by next summer.

The property is 15 miles away from Boston and Cambridge. The location provides easy access to the nearby interstates 90 and 95, the MBTA Green Line’s Riverside station and the MBTA commuter rail’s Auburndale station.

Feeding the life science boom in Boston

For Greatland, Riverside Labs is only one of several Boston-area life science projects. The developer also has three lab/office projects totaling roughly 640,000 square feet in Lexington, Mass., one of which being still under construction.

It’s not only Greatland taking advantage of the ongoing life science boom in the Boston area. Earlier this month, Breakthrough Properties completed a 263,000-square-foot research and development facility in Boston that already has its first tenant. The metro’s pipeline also includes a 334,000-square-foot life science development in Somerville, Mass., that recently was the recipient of a $278 million construction loan.

The post Greatland, Rockwood Land Financing for Boston-Area Life Science Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

105 by Breakthrough. Image courtesy of Breakthrough Properties

Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, has completed and delivered The 105 by Breakthrough, a 263,000-square-foot research and development facility located at 105 W. First St. in Boston.

Biotechnology company CRISPR Therapeutics will occupy the entire space under a prelease agreement dating back to the development’s ground breaking in 2020, using it as its new U.S. Research & Development headquarters.

The announcement follows the joint venture’s recent securing of $3 billion in funds for the financing, construction and development of a global life science portfolio. The 105 was the first project to be completed after this announcement, with others under development in Philadelphia, Boulder, San Diego and Oxford.

Construction on The 105 began in 2020 and is subject to a $209 million loan provided by Goldman Sachs, according to CommercialEdge data. The facility consists of Class A LEED- and Fitwell-certified lab and office space, with amenities including floor-to-ceiling glass windows, outdoor terraces, a fitness center, a bicycle room and a ground-floor café. Located between Boston’s Fort Point and South Boston neighborhoods, the property will be within arm’s length of many of the life science giant’s elite research universities and numerous similar facilities.

Boston life science leaps ahead

The Boston metro remains a leading market for life science development, containing over one-third of the nation’s total pipeline of 21.6 million square feet, CommercialEdge data shows. Such a figure is mainly due to the city’s large, condensed number of research universities, biotechnology companies and access to credentialed talent in the industry. Additionally, the city’s office sector has posted the highest overall growth rate in the U.S., seeing more than $3 billion in transaction volume as of August 2022, according to the same data.

Tishman Speyer Managing Director acknowledged the strength of the new facility’s location, saying in a prepared statement that The 105 responds to the intense demand for life science space in dynamic, amenity-rich neighborhoods that attract today’s top talent.

The post Tishman Speyer JV Opens Boston Life Science Facility appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Rendering of 798 N. Bedford St. Image courtesy of Greystar Real Estate Partners

Greystar Real Estate Partners has started construction on a 412,500-square-foot industrial project in East Bridgewater, Mass. Public records show Greystar acquired the 46-acre development site for $22.3 million from Rhino Capital Advisors. Completion is expected in late 2023.

The warehouse will come online at 798 N. Bedford St. The development was designed to feature 36-foot clear height, 57 loading docks and some 340 vehicle and trailer parking spaces. JLL will provide leasing and marketing services at the future facility.

The site is just west of Route 18, providing access to Boston’s South Shore. Fall River Expressway is some 5 miles west.

The East Bridgewater property represents Greystar’s entry into the Greater Boston industrial market, adding to the company’s $2 billion pipeline of logistics projects. The new ownership is set to expand its industrial footprint and meet the area’s growing demand for industrial space.

According to a recent CommercialEdge report, Boston’s industrial sector’s vacancy rate was at 8.5 percent as of August, while nearly 6.2 million square feet of industrial space were under construction across the metro. Earlier this year, Atlantic Management secured $96.5 million in financing for two industrial assets in Westborough, Mass., totaling approximately 500,000 square feet. Amazon fully occupies the first building and will expand its footprint to the second development, a build-to-suit project.

The post Greystar Enters Greater Boston Industrial Market appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge have broken ground on FORUM, a $500 million life science project in Boston. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the 350,000-square-foot building marks the first life science development partnership between the two companies.

Designed by SGA, FORUM aimis to achieve LEED Platinum, WiredScore Platinum and Fitwel certification. Consigli Construction Co. is the general contractor and BR+A Consulting Engineers will serve as project engineer.

The development team is partnering with the MassBioEd foundation to foster workforce development across the life science industry. The building’s common areas will be used for programming, which is meant to help students and career seekers to acquire more information and develop their skills in the field.

Back in 2021, the two companies acquired the construction site for $67 million. Earlier this year in February, Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge announced a separate joint venture to invest $500 million of equity in the development of lab, office and manufacturing projects in various life science clusters across the U.S., including Boston, Bay Area and San Diego.

The FORUM at the heart of Boston Landing

The nine-story building will encompass 60 percent lab space and 40 percent office space. The 40,000-square-foot flexible floorplates on floors two through nine will be occupied by multiple and single tenants. The property will feature meeting spaces with AV equipment. Common-area amenities will include a shared kitchen and eating area, a 7,000-square-foot terrace with seating areas, grilling stations and Wi-Fi. The tenants will have access to storage for 146 bicycles, on-site locker rooms and 288 parking spots with electric vehicle charging stations.

FORUM will be developed within Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use community located in the Allstone-Brighton neighborhood. The property is located at 60 Guest St., 6 miles from downtown Boston and 3 miles from Cambridge, with access to Mass Pike. Transportation options are available in the immediate area, including Boston Landing station and buses that connect to 64, 86, 70 and 70A routes. Boston Landing hosts the headquarters of New Balance, as well as practice facilities for the Celtics and Bruins.

The post Lendlease, Ivanhoé Break Ground on $500M Life Science Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

In another major step for Hines’ expansion and preservation work of the historic South Station building in Boston’s CBD, work officially began on the next stage of construction. To signify the milestone, the company along with elected officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the site of the redevelopment, which will include a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use tower above the transportation hub.

The global real estate firm kicked off construction on the 1.9 million-square-foot mixed-use project in January 2020, after it secured air rights along with an $870 million construction loan originated by The Children’s Investment Fund, public records and CommercialEdge data shows.

Beyond the high-rise, the first phase of the project includes the completion of the Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station with an expanded concourse, new bus terminal as well as direct access from the train to the bus terminal, among others.

READ ALSO: Top 5 LEED-Certified Office Projects in Massachusetts 

Anticipated to come online in 2025, the 51-story, 680-foot building at 650 Atlantic Ave. will include 711,500 square feet of office space as well as 166 condominium units across 308,500 square feet. The office segment will feature 29,000-square-foot floorplates, while the residential space will offer studios, up to three-bedroom floorplans as well as penthouse duplex options.

Tenants and residents of the tower will have access to a sky park atop the parking garage, a conference center, a private tenant lounge, a fitness and wellness center, bicycle storage, a terrace with a swimming pool along with a dining area on the 36th floor. Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, the tower aims to achieve LEED Gold and WELL Gold certifications as well as a BREEAM Excellent rating.

Emphasis on sustainable design is also reflected on Hines’ other mixed-use projects. T3 Eastside in Austin’s East submarket uses sustainably sourced wood and will encompass 93,000 square feet of office space along with 15 lofts throughout 9,200 square feet of residential space. The three-story development is expected to be delivered in 2023.

The post Hines’ Boston Mixed-Use Tower Advances appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

One Lincoln. Image courtesy of Fortis Property Group

Owner Fortis Property Group has completed a $1 billion-plus refinancing of One Lincoln, a 36-floor, 1.1-million-square-foot Class A office tower in Boston.

The refinancing proceeds reportedly will go toward repaying existing debt and providing more than $200 million in capital upgrades geared toward wellness and lifestyle amenities, as well as future leasing costs.

In addition, One Lincoln has gained a new anchor tenant, HarbourVest Partners, a leading global private markets firm. The Boston-based private equity company has signed a long-term lease for more than 250,000 square feet of office space across 11 floors.

Joel Kestenbaum, president of Fortis Property Group, said in a prepared statement that the lease deal was “nearly a year in the making.”

HarbourVest will move its Boston headquarters and all of its more than 650 Boston-based employees to One Lincoln, where it will replace State Street Corp. as the building’s name tenant. HarbourVest expects to move into the building in 2025.

READ ALSO: MBA’s Take on the Future of Office Demand

Completed in 2003, One Lincoln features more than 1.1 million square feet of office space and 900 parking spaces. Following this refinance, it will be undergoing major capital improvements including a complete renovation of the lobby, food services and amenity center, as well as reconfigured floorplates.

A diverse set of amenities will include an array of dining options, including an artisanal market, biergarten, al fresco seating and dining space. Health and wellness spaces will consist of a rooftop tennis court and basketball courts, a boxing ring, fitness center, and 1/8-mile outdoor walking trail. The building will also feature flexible spaces with stadium seating that can be used for exhibitions, speaking events or private gatherings.

Big buildings, big leases

At the beginning of 2019, State Street Corp. signed a lease for its new headquarters, 510,000 square feet at One Congress, a 1 million-square-foot office tower then under development as part of Boston’s six-building Bulfinch Crossing project. The 15-year lease is set to start in 2023, when State Street’s lease at One Lincoln expires.

Boston’s office market is bedeviled currently by large office conversions in the suburbs, which contributed to negative metro-wide absorption of nearly 1 million square feet, according to a second-quarter report from JLL. Fortunately, the CBD is more stable, with positive absorption for the third consecutive quarter.

The post Fortis Property Group Lands $1B Refi for Boston Tower appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Boynton Gateway. Image courtesy of JLL

CV Properties, in a joint venture with Cannon Hill Capital Partners and L&B Realty Advisors, has obtained $278 million for the construction of Boynton Gateway, a future nine-story, 334,000-square-foot life science facility in Somerville, Mass. Working on behalf of the borrower, JLL secured the floating-rate loan from Brookfield Asset Management.

The developers broke ground on the project in April, on a vacant site that was previously occupied by auto mechanic garages and parking facilities. Completion is expected in the third quarter of 2024.

READ ALSO: Why the Life Sciences Boom Is Not Likely to Bust

Boynton Gateway is taking shape at the corner of Columbia Street and Webster Avenue within Somerville’s Boynton Yards Overlay District, near the 1.8 million-square-foot Boynton Yards master-planned development. After its completion, the building will feature Class A, LEED Platinum-certified office, research and development space, labs and 2,500 square feet of open space, as well as public art.

The development site is adjacent to Kendall Square, within walking distance of many of the nation’s top research universities and hospitals. The location also provides quick access to many of the city’s transportation nodes.

Managing Director Anthony Cutone and Senior Director Henry Schaffer led the JLL Capital Markets team that represented the borrower.

Boston’s life science boom

Greater Boston remains one of the nations’ biggest and most lucrative markets for life science and office construction and investment, due to its large concentration of research universities and biotechnology companies. The entire metropolitan area has a total inventory of 13 million square feet of lab space with another 2 million under construction, according to a second quarter 2022 report from Newmark. The metro has seen $2.3 billion in office sales in the first half of 2022, boasting the only market in the country with a vacancy rate below 10 percent as of July, CommercialEdge data shows.

Other recent greater Somerville life science undertakings include BioMed Realty’s $514 million construction financing of the 485,000-square-foot Assembly Innovation Park research tower, as well as the development of 100 Chestnut, a four-story project in the city’s Brickbottom District.

The post CV Properties JV Lands $278M for Boston Life Science Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

In the first half of 2022, national office sales reached $37.46 billion, marking a $3.13 billion expansion on a year-over-year basis, according to CommercialEdge data. While overall, investment activity picked up pace nationwide, the largest increase in deals signed was across Class B properties, which recorded a 29.7 percent increase since mid-2021. The sale of Class C assets was up 20.5 percent, while Class A deal volume registered the lowest increase: 4.7 percent.

Some markets drove activity, such as Boston, the Bay Area and Seattle, where the life sciences sector saw increased demand. The office market has also recovered rapidly in high-growth Sun Belt cities like Austin and Phoenix. Gateway cities that hold a large existing office supply occupy leading positions on our list for top office markets for transaction activity in the first half of the year, based on data from CommercialEdge. Here’s our list of the top markets for office transaction activity during the first half of 2022:

5. Seattle

Seattle. Image by Lars Kristiansen from Pixabay

Seattle’s tech sector has kept the city’s office investment market active. In the first six months of the year, office deals in Seattle amounted to $1.8 billion, up nearly 9 percent compared to the same period last year. The average sale price per square foot was the second largest across top ten markets for investment activity after Manhattan, reaching $633.7.

While the Seattle market’s overall dollar volume transacted in the first six months grew on a year-over-year basis, the actual square footage sold in the first half of 2022 reached 3.6 million square feet, down 780,000 square feet since the same period in 2021. Sale volume was up across all asset classes since mid-2021 levels, but Class C assets registered the largest, 366 percent increase in sale volume for the first half of the year. Prices were up compared to mid-2021, when they averaged at $460.0 per square foot.

In February, Deka Immobilien paid $802 million—or more than $1,260 per square foot—for a Google-anchored office property in the metro’s South Lake Union submarket. The 635,000-square-foot asset was finalized in 2019. The two residential towers that sit atop the office component were not part of the deal.

4. Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. Image by David Mark via PIxabay.com

Washington., D.C. is the first market on our list to exceed the $2 billion-mark in office sales in the first six months of 2022. Sales added up to 7.9 million square feet that changed hands. The metro’s overall office transaction total nearly doubled since 2021, expanding by $1.1 billion compared to the first half of the previous year. Significant growth has been recorded across all asset classes.

The metro is one of the least expensive on our top 10 list, along with Chicago ($196.2 per square foot), New Jersey ($272.3 per square foot) and Phoenix ($282.5 percent). The average price for office assets in Washington, D.C. reached $292.7 per square foot, up $46.3 since mid-2021.

In June, Post Brothers bought into the Washington, D.C. office market with the acquisition of two Class B buildings. As part of the company’s transition to a focus on multifamily and its signature National Landing project, JBG SMITH sold off the asset for $228 million. Spanning a full city block, Universal North and South comprise a total of nearly 660,000 square feet.

3. Boston

Boston. Image by Andreas Hundt via Pixabay

One of the biggest life sciences hubs, Boston’s office market has seen an impressive recovery during the past year. With high-quality space hitting the market, the average listing rate in June was up by 12.0 percent on a year-over-year basis. The same month, Boston was the only market to have an office vacancy rate below 10 percent.

The metro’s office transaction volume for the first half of 2022 hit $2.4 billion, up roughly $51.3 million since the same period in 2021. Pointing toward a more stable market, the gain in deal volume was less spectacular than in the markets mentioned above. The average sale price hit $408.6 per square foot, down $28.8 since the first half of last year.

In the beginning of the year, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. picked up a 1.3 million-square-foot office campus in Andover, Mass. Atlantic Management and Spear Street Capital were the sellers of the eight-building office, R&D and laboratory ensemble in Minuteman Park, which traded for a total of $341 million.

2. Bay Area

Bay Area. Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

The San Francisco Bay Area’s unmatched tech hub and life science sector has, to some degree, provided a protective shield against pandemic-induced woes faced by traditional office space. The metro is one of the top markets for office construction, with vacancy improving at a steadier pace than in the Peninsula.

The East and South Bay’s sales volume in the first half of the year reached $2.4 billion, down roughly $1 billion since the same period last year. This drop in investment volume year-over-year was atypical, as most U.S. markets registered increases over the last 12 months, the only other exception being Manhattan (-$289.13 million). The average price for office product in the Bay Area was stable since mid-2021 and reached $497 per square foot in June.

Transaction volume decreased across all asset classes compared to the first six months of 2021. Prices decreased for B Class assets from $369 per square foot in the first half of 2021 to $282.9 in the same period in 2022. The average price for Class A properties inflated the most, from $684.2 per square foot in 2021 to $1,038.5 in the first six months of 2022.

1. Los Angeles

Los Angeles. Photo by Cameron Venti via Unsplash.com

In mid-2022, the Los Angeles metro’s office pipeline relative to existing office stock was one of the lowest in the country, but the City of Angels was the nation’s busiest market for office transactions. The sales volume for the first six month of the year reached $2.5 billion and nearly doubled compared to the same period in 2021. The actual square footage that changed hands in the first half of the year—5.22 million square feet—was also significantly higher than last year, when it added up to 3.48 million square feet.

Prices in L.A. have also increased, from an average of $355.6 per square foot recorded in the first six months of 2021 to $485.5 per square foot year-to-date through June 2022. Average transaction prices were up across Class A and Class B assets since mid-June last year, but for Class C properties, prices decreased year-over-year from $512.9 in 2021 to $271.4 in the first six month of the year.

In June, a subsidiary of FS Credit Real Estate Income Trust Inc. picked up 555 Aviation, a nearly 300,000-square-foot creative office property in El Segundo, Calif. Tishman Speyer sold the single-story, LEED-certified asset for $205.5 million. Built in the 1960s, the property went through a compete overhaul in 2018. At the time of the sale, the building was fully leased to three tenants.

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