WESTBOROUGH, MASS. — Amazon will open a new 350,000-square-foot robotics innovation hub in Westborough, located approximately 30 miles west of Boston. The facility will feature corporate offices, research and development labs and manufacturing space. The move is also expected to bring about 200 new tech and advanced manufacturing jobs to Massachusetts. Atlantic Management is developing the facility, which is slated for completion in 2021.
STOUGHTON, MASS. — JLL has brokered the $19.5 million sale of a shopping center in Stoughton, located approximately 20 miles south of Boston. A 59,987-square-foot Stop & Shop grocery store anchors the 79,300-square-foot center, which also houses tenants such as Bank of America, Care Central Urgent Care and Andrade’s Liquors. Nat Heald, Chris Angelone and Jessica Dowd of JLL represented the seller, Katz Properties Retail, in the transaction. RK Centers was the buyer.
BOSTON — Kitchen remodeling firm Express Kitchens plans to significantly increase its Massachusetts footprint in 2020 by opening three new retail stores and five new showrooms in and around the Boston area. Express Kitchens will open stores in the suburbs of Lynn, Watertown, Dedham, Peabody, Reading, Medford, Brockton and Weymouth. Showrooms will display a range of kitchens, cabinets and countertops, which customers will be able to purchase for their homes in-store or from the company’s website.
LEXINGTON, MASS. — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated a 14,764-square-foot office lease for pharmaceutical company KabaFusion in Lexington, a northwestern suburb of Boston. The company is moving its headquarters from a 3,500-square-foot space in Waltham to 80 Hayden Avenue, a 43,208-square-foot, three-story office building primarily leased to life sciences tenants. Mark Roth, Matt Malatesta, Brendan Daly and Brianna Piacitelli of NKF represented the landlord, Marwick Associates, in the lease negotiations. Jack Whelan and Michael O’Leary represented KabaFusion.
LOWELL, MASS. — WinnCompanies plans to develop a $38.3 million residential project in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District of Lowell, located approximately 25 miles northwest of Boston. The Hamilton Canal Innovation District is a collection 17 master-planned development parcels in the city’s downtown area. WinnCompanies will develop adjacent vacant parcels into two five-story buildings comprising 125 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space. The development will offer 15 studio units, 63 one-bedroom apartments and 47 two-bedroom residences. Of those residential units, 54 workforce apartments will rent at 100 percent of area median income (AMI), 39 apartments will be affordable up to 60 percent of AMI and 32 apartments will rent at market rates. ICON Architecture is designing the project. Construction will begin in December and is slated for completion by September 2021.
BREWSTER, MASS. — Walker & Dunlop has provided a $28.3 million bridge loan for the acquisition of Pleasant Bay, a 25-acre seniors housing campus in the Cape Cod town of Brewster. The campus comprises The Woodlands at Pleasant Bay, a 59-unit assisted living community, as well as the 134-bed Pleasant Bay Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Point Group Care operates the community. The specific borrower was not disclosed. The financing will cover approximately 90 percent of the acquisition costs, and the borrower plans to conduct renovations at the property. Featuring flexible prepayment options, the two-year loan includes interest-only payments for the entire life of the loan.. Joshua Rosen structured the debt using Walker & Dunlop’s bridge lending program, which utilizes the company’s own balance sheet to offer short-term, nonrecourse loans for properties that are being acquired or repositioned as part of a new business strategy.
BOSTON — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated the $69.2 million sale of 100 Franklin Street, a 123,950-square-foot office building in downtown Boston. At the time of sale, the nine-story building was 95 percent leased to 25 tenants including Webster Bank, data research company Lux Research Inc. and the YMCA. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, James Tribble and Samantha Hallowell of NKF represented the seller, a partnership between Clarion Partners LLC and Synergy Investments. A partnership between Independencia Asset Management LLC and Synergy Investments LLC was the buyer. Boston Business Journal reports that Synergy will remain in its 9,034-square-foot office within the building and will continue to manage the property.
CANTON, MASS. — Colliers International has arranged the $12.3 million sale of Foxford Business Center, a 112,375-square-foot industrial building in Canton, located approximately 15 miles south of Boston. Foxford Business Center was completed in 1984 and underwent subsequent renovations in 1990 and 1995. The building was fully leased to 13 tenants at the time of sale. Caleb Hudak, Cathy Minnerly, Ovar Osvold, Sean Hannigan and Glenne Bachman of Colliers represented the seller, The Naughton Co., in the transaction. Longpoint Realty Partners was the buyer.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Urban Spaces has sold 85-95 First Street, a 10,000-square-foot retail building in Cambridge, for $11.2 million. The building was competed in June with 4,600 square feet of space preleased to specialty pet food and supply store Loyal Companion. Paint supply store Sherwin-Williams has also agreed to lease 2,900 square feet, and another undisclosed tenant has agreed to lease the remaining 2,500 square feet. Conviser Property Group represented Urban Spaces in the building sale.
WORCESTER, MASS. — Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates Inc. has brokered the sale of Worcester Plaza Tower, a 244,000-square-foot office tower in central Massachusetts. The sales price was $16.5 million. The 24-story tower is the tallest office building in Worcester. Kelleher & Sadowsky represented the seller, S-BNK Worcester Main, an entity registered to the Casey Brothers Trust of Boston. The firm also procured the buyer, Synergy Investments, which plans to make capital improvements to the property.
