AGAWAM, MASS. — OMG Inc., a commercial roof fastening product manufacturing and supply company, has leased 86,031 square feet of warehouse and office space at 101 Almgren Drive in Agawam. Situated on 14.6 acres, the 187,900-square-foot industrial facility is owned by California-based Four Cities Partner LTD and master leased, as well as substantially occupied by Seattle-based Vaupell Holdings Inc. Sentry Commercial, in association with Hart Corp., represented Vaupell in the transaction.
LOWELL, MASS. — The Stubblebine Company/CORFAC International has brokered the sale of an industrial property located at 170 Lincoln St. in Lowell. The principals of RKKC LLC aka Patriot Care LLC acquired the property for $2 million. Formerly occupied by Prelco, the 39,000-square-foot property features 13-foot clear heights. David Stubblebine, James Stubblebine and Micah Stubblebine of The Stubblebine Company represented the undisclosed seller, while Fran Sagandorf of Taupier represented the buyer in the transaction.
NATICK, MASS. — R.W. Holmes Realty Co. has arranged the sale of a 44,950-square-foot office/warehouse property located at 245 W. Central St. in Natick. Snap-One Corp. sold the property to South Natick Partners LLC for $2.3 million. Situated on 2.5 acres, the property features four tailboard doors, one drive-in loading dock and 100 parking spaces. Craig Johnston of R.W. Holmes Realty represented the seller, while Eric Brosler of MetroWest Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer in the transaction.
WEST ROXBURY, MASS. — Linear Retail Properties has acquired a retail property located at 1869-1881 Centre St. in West Roxbury for $2.1 million. Built in 1920, the 7,335-square-foot property is occupied by Atlas True Value Hardware, Rox Diner, Iron Body Studios and Saigon Nails. The name of the seller was not disclosed.
MIDDLEBOROUGH, MASS. — Novaya Real Estate Ventures has acquired a warehouse property located at 154 Campanelli Drive in Middleborough for $19.7 million. The 275,000-square-foot property is fully leased to alphabroder, an imprintable activewear company, on a long-term basis. JLL represented the seller, AEW, in the transaction.
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — CBRE/New England has brokered the sale of Bell Wheeler Hill, a 274-unit apartment community located in Marlborough. CBRE Strategic Partners U.S. Value 7 fund, sponsored by CBRE Global Investors, acquired the property from an affiliate of Bell Partners Inc. for an undisclosed price. The community features a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, with an average size of 1,015 square feet. On-site amenities include a great room, media room, business center, gym, outdoor pool with sundeck, tot lot, carports, garages and gas grills. Simon Butler and Biria St. John of CBRE/NE represented the seller in the transaction.
BOSTON AND NEW YORK CITY — Rockville, Md.-based Federal Realty Investment Trust has acquired the 70 percent interest owned by affiliates of a discretionary funded advised by ING Clarion Partners in a joint venture that owns six shopping centers. The purchase price was approximately $154 million, consisting of $130 million of cash and assumption of the allocable share of mortgage debt. The properties include Atlantic Plaza and Campus Plaza near Boston; Greenlawn Plaza on Long Island; Free State Shopping Center and Plaza del Marcado in suburban Maryland; and Barcroft Plaza in Northern Virginia. With this acquisition, Federal Realty has successfully concluded the the venture that was formed in 2004 and increased its ownership of the 820,000-square-foot portfolio from 30 percent to 100 percent.
CAMBRIDGE, SOMERVILLE AND BRIGHTON, MASS. — Akelius has acquired 258 apartments in Boston in two separate transactions. The transactions, which totaled $92 million, included five properties. One property, which was constructed in 1964, is located in Cambridge with immediate proximity to Harvard University, while the other four properties were built around 1920 and are located in Somerville and Brighton. Jordan Milewicz handled the transaction. The names of the sellers were not released.
BOSTON — Fantini & Gorga has arranged three loans totaling $12.3 million in permanent financing for three properties in Boston. The properties include a mixed-use property at 174 Newbury St. and two multifamily assets located at 471 and 475 Commonwealth Ave. within Kenmore Square. The Newbury Street property features four stores with a lower level retail space occupied by Ben & Jerry’s and Vans, and five apartment units on the upper levels with direct access to the sidewalk. 471 Commonwealth is a four-story building with 10 apartment units and 475 Commonwealth is a seven-story property with 42 apartments and one office suite. Derek Coulombe, Tim O’Donnell and Chris Miller of Fantini & Gorga arranged the financing for the undisclosed borrower.
Despite the clichés and naysayers, Boston’s apartment fundamentals continue to trend at the top of U.S. cities’ forecasts. For developers, investors and borrowers, Boston truly is that city on a hill. Clichés heard often in the commercial real estate community: Interest rates have no place to go but up. Who is going to pay $4.50-per-square-foot rents? Wait until the next wave of units is delivered. Valuation and yield don’t make sense. The facts: Economists have been predicting interest rate increases for the past five years. Market vacancy has been sub-5 percent for more than five years. Every major apartment player owns or is currently building in Boston, averaging $1.2 billion in product for past three years. Boston is a premier gateway city and buyers want in. The Investor Outlook Simplified When cap rates for the most desired real estate class — in a gateway city, in the safest country for investment in the world — average 4.25 percent, it’s a great time to invest. The 2006 cap rates were just 100 basis points above the 10-year risk-free rate. Today they are 2.0 to 2.25 percent. Half of the deals are cash transactions. Locals can only shake their heads at the …
