CHELMSFORD, MASS. — Digital Federal Credit Union has purchased an office building located at 297 Billerica Road in Chelmsford for an undisclosed price. The three-story, 129,000-square-foot building features a state-of-the-art data center, outdoor grilling and seating area, training rooms, in-house café, and shower and locker rooms. The buyer plans to use the facility to accommodate its continued expansion. The property was built and formerly occupied by Kronos Inc., which recently relocated its global headquarters for Lowell, Mass. Mark Reardon, Peter Dominski, Alex Plaisted and Ben Roopenian of CBRE/New England represented the seller, Anchor Line Partners, on behalf of Kronos. Garry Holmes of R.W. Holmes Realty represented the buyer in the deal.
Massachusetts
The Financial District, Back Bay, and Seaport continue to experience strong tenant demand with a vacancy of 10.3 percent and continued rent appreciation. The Seaport, which has experienced tremendous growth for the last four years, received national attention with GE committing to move its corporate headquarters to the market and continues to make headlines with Amazon committing to 150,000 square feet. In addition, 121 Seaport Boulevard just leased to PTC (250,000 square feet) and Alexion (150,000 square feet). One of the biggest trends throughout Boston continues to be the popularity of the Class B buildings. Most people think of Cambridge as one of the premier lab markets in the world. Cambridge has the lowest office vacancy of all the submarkets in Greater Boston at 4.2 percent, making it one of the strongest office markets in the country. Even pre-leasing is strong, with Alexandria Real Estate receiving commitments for all 431,000 square feet at 100 Binney Street, signing Facebook and Bristol-Meyers Squibb as the lead tenants. Space is so tight that, even when you include sublet space, a tenant looking for more than 50,000 square feet only has four options in the submarket. Top Class A product is now achieving rents …
PEABODY, MASS. — KeyPoint Partners has arranged the sale of Route One Marketplace, a retail property located at 216 Newbury St. in Peabody. An undisclosed seller sold the property to the owner and operator of FUNCITY and Aero Trampoline Parks for $6.1 million. The buyer plans to open a FUNCITY facility at the property in spring 2018. Work Out World, Namco, Mass Bay Hockey Center and Revival Church are tenants at the 68,530-square-foot property. Don Mace of KeyPoint Partners negotiated the transaction.
Senate Construction Completes 615,600 SF Distribution Center in Worcester, Massachusetts
by Amy Works
WORCESTER, MASS. — Senate Construction has completed the construction of a 615,600-square-foot distribution center located at 150 Blackstone River Road in Worcester. The property was developed by 150 Blackstone River Road LLC, a joint venture between Mid-States Packaging Inc. and GFI Partners. Imperial Distributors occupies 325,000 square feet of property, with G-3 occupying 200,000 square feet and Mid-States Packaging occupying the remaining space. Senate performed the design-build of the foundation, superstructure, HVAC, fire protection, plumbing and electrical work. Jim Thornton of Andover, Mass.-based Applied Form and Space Architects provided architectural services for the project.
PTC Signs Long-Term Lease for 250,000 SF Global Headquarters in Boston’s Seaport District
by Amy Works
BOSTON — Needham, Mass.-based PTC has signed an 18.5-year lease for 250,000 square feet of office space at 121 Seaport Blvd. in Boston’s Seaport District. PTC will occupy the top nine floors of the 17-story, 400,000-square-foot office building when it is completed in the first quarter of 2018. Developed by Skanska Development and designed by Boston-based CBT Architects, the property will feature large floor plates, two floors of retail and views of the Boston Harbor and downtown Boston. PTC is a global provider of technology that transforms how companies design, manufacture, operate and service the “things” in the Internet of Things. Jack Burns, Adam Subber and Dan Sullivan of Cresa Boston negotiated the lease for PTC, while Bill Anderson and Dave Martel of Newmark Knight Frank represented the developer in the lease transaction.
READING, MASS. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of Residence at Pearl Street, an 83-unit assisted living and memory care community in the Boston suburb of Reading, for an undisclosed price. The seller was a joint venture between LCB Senior Living and Virtus Real Estate. A new joint venture between LCB and Artemis Real Estate Properties acquired the asset. LCB will continue to operate the property. The community was originally an elementary school built in 1939 and is now a historic building. In 1996 the building was redeveloped into a seniors housing community and a purpose-built wing was added that currently houses the majority of the residential units. The property underwent a $3.3 million renovation in 2014 and 2015. LCB stabilized the community by the end of 2016 with occupancy over 90 percent. The Cushman & Wakefield team involved in the transactions included Rick Swartz, Jay Wagner, Jim Dooley and Caryn Miller.
WinnCompanies Completes $19.3M Adaptive Reuse for Multifamily Property in Ludlow, Massachusetts
by Amy Works
LUDLOW, MASS. — WinnCompanies has completed the $19.3 million adaptive reuse project that transformed a 110-year-old mill building into Residences at Mill 10, an age-restricted seniors housing property located in Ludlow. The four-story, 108,163-square-foot building features 63 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments for residents age 55 and older. On-site amenities include community spaces and common areas on each floor, a fitness center, laundry facilities, a resident lounge and parking. WinnResidential is managing the property, which is fully leased. Dellbrook Construction served as general contractor and The Architectural Team provided architectural services for the project.
Northeast Private Client Group Brokers $2.3M Sale of Apartment Building in Worcester, Massachusetts
by Amy Works
WORCESTER, MASS. — Northeast Private Client Group has negotiated the sale of Longfellow Manor Apartments, located at 1002-1008 Main St. in Worcester. Emerald Empire Inc. acquired the building from a Framingham, Mass.-based trust for $2.3 million, or $49,000 per unit. The value-add property features 39 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units. Taylor Perun and Timothy McGeary of Northeast Private Client Group represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — R.W. Holmes Realty has arranged the sale of Mount Royal Office Park, located at the interchange of Route 20 and Interstate 495 in Marlborough. Mount Royal Associates II, an entity of Haynes Management, sold the three-building property to CB Equities Mt Royal for $8.5 million. The buyer plans to rename the property to Knowledge Park @ Marlborough and renovate the 160,000-square-foot property with a new exterior front façade, new signage, an updated fitness center with showers and a common area with a club room. Additionally, the buyer will occupy a portion of the building and plans to lease out suites ranging from 1,600 square feet to 20,000 square feet. Craig Johnson, Garry Holmes and Jim Bartholomew of R.W. Holmes represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
BELMONT, MASS. — NAI Hunneman has brokered the sale of a multifamily community located at 61-63 Moraine St. in Belmont. CMS Moraine sold the property to an undisclosed buyer for $8 million. Constructed in 1970, the community features 24 apartments in a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. Carl Christie and Dan McGee of NAI Hunneman represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.