BOSTON — CBRE has brokered the sale of the Joy Realty Portfolio, a collection of eight apartment buildings totaling 284 units in Boston. The four- and five-story buildings were constructed in the early 20th century and are located in the Fenway and Longwood Medical areas. The unit mix comprises studio through four-bedroom floor plans, and the portfolio has an average unit size of 550 square feet. Simon Butler, Biria St. John, John McLaughlin and Brian Bowler of CBRE represented the seller, a private family that had owned some of the assets for more than 100 years, in the transaction. The team also procured two separate buyers; an affiliate of Cambridge-based Forest Properties purchased six buildings totaling 222 units, and an undisclosed investor acquired the other two buildings totaling 62 units.
WRENTHAM, MASS. — Simon Property Group has welcomed several new tenants to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, located near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border. Apparel retailer Hollister Co. featuring Gilly Hicks is now open, and Italian luxury fashion brand Moncler plans to open a store in the coming weeks. Additionally, Shake Shack will open a restaurant in late winter.
SALEM, MASS. — MassDevelopment has provided $45 million in tax-exempt bond financing for the redevelopment of Leefort Terrace, an affordable housing complex in Salem, located north of Boston. Leefort Terrace was originally built in 1958 and houses 50 one-bedroom units across eight buildings. The borrower, an affiliate of nonprofit owner-operator Beacon Communities, has entered into a 99-year ground lease with the Salem Housing Authority and demolished the existing buildings. The redeveloped property will feature 124 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans that will be reserved for renters earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. Delivery is scheduled for summer 2026.
STOUGHTON, MASS. — Brookfield Properties is underway on construction of Stoughton Logistics Park, an 880,085-square-foot industrial project located on the southern outskirts of Boston. The 65-acre site at 45 Maple St. is a former quarry that is being redeveloped into a logistics campus with three buildings. Those buildings, one of which is already complete, range in size from 189,470 to 411,930 square feet. Buildings will feature clear heights of 36 to 42 feet, and the site also offers 6.9 acres for outdoor trailer parking/storage space. CBRE has been tapped as the leasing agent. The second and third buildings are scheduled for third-quarter 2025 deliveries.
BOSTON — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $4 million sale of a 12-unit multifamily portfolio in the Dorchester area of Boston. The Fuller Street Portfolio comprises two six-unit buildings at 46-48 and 301-305 Fuller St. and a vacant buildable lot. Evan Griffith and Tony Pepdjonovic of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were private investors that requested anonymity, in the transaction.
WATERTOWN, MASS. —Biotechnology company NewCo has signed a 61,189-square-foot life sciences lease in the western Boston suburb of Watertown. The building at 66 Galen St. is a newly completed, 225,000-square-foot facility that is part of a larger, 450,000-square-foot campus. Evan Gallagher and John Carroll of Colliers represented NewCo in the lease negotiations. Duncan Gratton, Connor Barnes and Joe Pearce of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, partnership between two locally based firms, Davis Cos. and Boston Development Group.
SHREWSBURY, MASS. — North Carolina-based investment firm Bell Partners has acquired Quinn35, a 250-unit apartment community located in the central Massachusetts city of Shrewsbury. The property was built in 2018 and has been managed by Bell Partners since 2019. Units come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include a clubhouse and social lounge, a 24-hour fitness center, recreation room with billiards, dog park, outdoor lounge and a heated pool. Simon Butler, Biria St. John, John McLaughlin and Brian Bowler of CBRE represented the seller, New York City-based Bluerock Real Estate Holdings, in the transaction. Bell Partners has rebranded the property as Bell Shrewsbury.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Biopharmaceutical company LifeMine has signed a 56,465-square-foot life sciences lease in the western Boston suburb of Watertown. The building at 66 Galen St. is a newly completed, 225,000-square-foot facility that is part of a larger, 450,000-square-foot campus. Evan Gallagher and John Carroll of Colliers represented LifeMine in the lease negotiations. Duncan Gratton, Connor Barnes and Joe Pearce of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, a partnership between two locally based firms, Davis Cos. and Boston Development Group.
BOSTON — Azora has acquired an office and retail building located at 149 Newbury St. in Boston for $101 million. The property offers 45,495 rentable square feet across five floors. Certified LEED Gold, the building is situated along the Newbury Street commercial corridor, surrounded by luxury shops and restaurants in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood. The asset was 81 percent leased at the time of sale. The ground floor is fully occupied by two tenants: Google, which operates its first high-tech store in New England; and Alo, an athletic apparel retailer. The third floor offers 9,586 square feet available for lease. Azora plans to convert this space into “ready to move in” offices, citing demand for this type of product in the area. Ignacio Gil-Casares, managing partner of Azora Exan, says the acquisition aligns with a strategy that the company began implementing in the U.S. last year. “We continue to believe in the value of trophy office assets in major U.S. cities, and 149 Newbury is the perfect example, combining an excellent location, high occupancy by top-tier tenants and the potential to achieve higher returns by leasing the remaining space through the creation of speculative spaces,” he says. “We are …
EAST CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — A partnership between Leggat McCall Properties and Granite Properties has completed the mixed-use redevelopment of a former courthouse building located at 40 Thorndike St. in East Cambridge. Formerly known as the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse, the 20-story building now features 422,000 square feet of office space, 48 affordable housing units, retail, restaurant, childcare and meeting spaces, as well as parking for 362 cars and 20,000 square feet of public outdoor space. Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the project, and John Moriarty & Associates served as the general contractor. Bank OZK financed the project. Construction began in fall 2021.