BOSTON — Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) has received a $98 million loan for the refinancing of the 309-room Hilton Boston Back Bay hotel. Located near Fenway Park, the hotel offers amenities such as an indoor pool, fitness center, business center, meeting rooms and onsite food and beverage options. The nonrecourse, floating-rate loan features a four-year initial term with a one-year extension option. An undisclosed balance sheet lender provided the loan. Robert Douglas, a real estate advisory firm that specializes in providing capital solutions for the hospitality industry, assisted Ashford with this transaction.
MetLife, Norges Bank Acquire One Memorial Drive Office Tower in Cambridge, Massachusetts for $825.1M
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business of MetLife Inc., and Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset management division of Norges Bank, have acquired One Memorial Drive, a Class A office building in Cambridge, for $825.1 million. Oxford Properties Group and a fund advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives sold the property for over $2,000 per square foot. Located on the Charles River about 0.7 mile from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, One Memorial Drive is a 17-story building with 409,422 square feet of leasable space. Built in 1986 and renovated in 2018, the fully occupied property has two long-term tenants, InterSystems Corp., a Cambridge-based data technology provider, and Microsoft Corp., a Redmond, Wash.-based computer software and electronics retailer. In 2017, the previous owner increased the leasable area of the building by more than 10 percent by converting an entire floor of underutilized parking into office space. The new transformed office space was then leased to InterSystems. “We continue to see significant areas of opportunity within the commercial real estate sector despite the challenges posed by the pandemic over the last 18 months,” says Robert Merck, global head of real estate and agriculture at MetLife Investment …
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Two locally based firms, The Davis Cos. and Boston Development Group, have broken ground on a 224,000-square-foot life sciences project in the western Boston suburb of Watertown. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, the project marks Phase I of a larger campus that will ultimately include 450,000 square feet of space across two buildings. The first building will offer six private tenant spaces and amenities such as a fitness center, bike storage room and retail/café space. Completion is slated for mid-2023.
LYNNFIELD, MASS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $19.5 million sale of a 64,056-square-foot shopping center in Lynnfield, a northern suburb of Boston. The property consists of three buildings, including one that was built in 1991, remodeled in 2019 and is occupied by Christmas Tree Shops, as well as two others that were completed in 2018. Other tenants include Yankee Candle, Meraki Spa, Starbucks and East Boston Savings Bank. Glen Kunofsky, Josh Kanter and Anthony D’Ambrosia of Marcus & Millichap brokered the deal. The buyer and seller were not disclosed.
NORTHBOROUGH, MASS. — Metrie, a manufacturer and distributor of interior finishings, has signed a 121,623-square-foot industrial lease expansion at 301 Bartlett St. in Northborough, located in Worcester County. Bill Sullivan, Jon Pezzoni and Matt Walker of Avison Young represented the tenant, which originally occupied 58,123 square feet before expanding by an additional 65,000 square feet, in the lease negotiations. Colliers International represented the undisclosed landlord. Metrie will take occupancy of its expanded space in October.
CARVER, MASS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of an 85,199-square-foot shopping center in Carver, about 45 miles south of Boston. Grocer Shaw’s anchors the property, which was built in 2005. Other tenants include CVS, Anytime Fitness and Jamie’s Fine Wine & Spirits. Glen Kunofsky, Josh Kanter and Anthony D’Ambrosia of Marcus & Millichap brokered the deal. The buyer and seller were not disclosed.
BOSTON — Newmark has secured the recapitalization of a portfolio of six medical office buildings totaling approximately 200,000 square feet that are located throughout various markets in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Ben Appel, Michael Greeley, Jay Miele and John Nero of Newmark procured an undisclosed institutional equity partner for owner Aspect Health. The new joint venture also plans to develop more healthcare facilities in these regions.
BOSTON — A partnership between investment firm Quaker Lane Capital and Boston-based private equity group Alcion Ventures has purchased a 63,000-square-foot boutique office and retail building located at 110 Canal St. within Boston’s North Station submarket. The building features exposed brick walls, lofty ceilings and open floor plates. CBRE has been tapped to market the property to creative office users.
AVON, MASS. — Axiom Capital Corp. has arranged a $10 million loan for the refinancing of a cold storage facility in Avon, located south of Boston. Built in 1988 and renovated between 2009 and 2012, the property features a clear height of 30 to 32 feet, 25 dock doors and 5.3 million cubic feet of storage space. An undisclosed life insurance company provided the seven-year, fixed-rate loan to the borrower, an undisclosed private owner/developer. The property has been leased to a global cold storage operator since 2013.
REVERE, MASS. — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) has placed a $5 million loan for the refinancing of a 30-unit apartment building in Revere, a northeastern suburb of Boston. Robert Damigella of MMCC arranged the 20-year loan, which carried a fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule, on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The direct lender was also not disclosed.