The last five years have seen a lot of shuffling around for Boston’s mainstay industries, with professional service firms moving to the Seaport and tech companies moving to Kendall Square. Although we’ve seen more new residential and commercial development than ever, there will always be space limitations in Boston, which means there will always be more user demand than there is space on the market. The space left behind from tenants on the move will be easily filled by the next wave of tenants — and the cycle continues. Oxford Properties’ latest announcement of its acquisition of 222 Berkeley St. and 500 Boylston St. in the Back Bay is perhaps the best example of the trajectory model in Boston. And similar to the media and finance switcheroo that Manhattan is experiencing (the media mecca is now downtown and FiDi is now midtown), media companies in Boston are now moving into the financial district and finance firms are moving to the Seaport. Boston Globe Media Partners is close to leasing 75,000 square feet of space at 53 State Street. The publishing company will take some of Goodwin Procter’s block that will be vacated once the company relocates to the Seaport District. …
LOWER NAZARETH, PA. — Joint venture partners Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners have acquired a 90-acre site located at 4815 Hanoverville Road in Lower Nazareth for the development of Lehigh Valley Trade Center. Construction is slated to begin later this month for two Class A speculative warehouse/distribution buildings totaling more than 1.2 million square feet. Building A will comprise 947,000 square feet with cross-dock loading, 36-foot clear heights, the capacity for more than 240 loading dock doors, and ample car and trailer parking. The second building will total 297,000 square feet and will feature rear loading and 32-foot clear heights. Clarion Partners acquired the property on behalf of a commingled fund that it manages.
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Savanna and Atom Assets, a Hong Kong-based family office real estate investment platform, has received a $40 million acquisition loan for a development site located at 106 W. 56th St. in Midtown Manhattan. The loan was provided by Singapore-based United Overseas Bank Ltd. The partnership plans to develop the site into a 26-story, Class A boutique office building. Located in Manhattan’s West Fifties neighborhood, the new building will offer 90,000 square feet of Class A boutique office space. Kelly Gaines and Aaron Niedermayer of JLL arranged the financing.
SOMERVILLE AND TAUNTON, MASS. — Fantini & Gorga has arranged two loans totaling $7.3 million in permanent financing on two retail properties in Massachusetts. In the first transaction, Fantini & Gorga arranged $2 million in refinancing for a 17,500-square-foot strip center in Somerville. The borrower was a long-term client of Fantini & Gorga. The 20-year fixed-rate loan, which was provided by a regional financial institution, features a 25-year amortization schedule. In the second deal, Fantini & Gorga secured $5.3 million in refinancing on an existing CMBS loan for a 30,000-square-foot strip center in Taunton. The new 10-year loan was originated with another CMBS lender. Mark Whelan and Wayne Clough of Fantini & Gorga arranged the financing for both transactions.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged the sale of a retail condominium located at 4 W. 19th St. in Manhattan’s Flatiron district. A private real estate investor acquired the ground-floor 1,574-square-foot retail asset from a corporate entity for $6.4 million. The property is currently leased to Zuber, a luxury wallpaper and fabric firm. Ron Solarz of Eastern Consolidated represented the seller, while Roberto Ortiz and Rhonda Rogovin, also of Eastern Consolidated, represented the buyer in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a mixed-use building in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood. Ben Franklin LLC acquired the 4,133-square-foot property for $3.1 million, or $762 per square foot. The four-story building features three residential units and a ground-floor retail space, which is occupied by a neighborhood bar. Brendan Maddigan of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction. The name of the seller was not released.
TRUMBULL, CONN. — The Silverman Group has completed the sale of Trefoil Park, a five-building office/laboratory/flex park in Trumbull. 265 West 34th Street LLC acquired the asset for $26.7 million. The park includes a three-story, 54,899-square-foot building located at 35 Corporate Drive; a three-story 47,264-square-foot building located at 55 Corporate Drive; a 44,221-square-foot asset at 126 Monroe Turnpike; a 45,615-square-foot property at 30 Trefoil Drive; and a 40,675-square-foot building at 204 Spring Hill Road. In addition to a mix of office, industrial and flex space, the park features a fitness center and a child care center. At the time of sale, Trefoil Park was 95 percent leased to a diverse roster of 37 corporate and industrial tenants. Tom O’Leary, Gary Gabriel, Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut and Andrew Schwartz of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — GFI Realty Services has brokered the sale of an apartment building located at 601 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn’s Ditmas Park neighborhood. Meridian Properties acquired the property from Duo Ocean Parkway LLC for $19.5 million. The newly constructed 45,000-square-foot building features 44 residential units in a mix of one- and two-bedroom layouts, 14 indoor parking spaces, a lounge, fitness center, common outdoor terrace and a laundry facility. At the time of sale, the property was 100 percent occupied. Shulem Paneth and Eli Matyas of GFI represented the seller, while Erick Yankelovich represented the buyer in the transaction.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo-based M&T Bank has provided $13 million in financing for the acquisition of eight CVS/pharmacy properties in Long Island, N.Y.; Upstate New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. A Case Real Estate Capital-sponsored venture acquired the high-credit, triple-net leased retail properties, which total approximately 85,000 square feet. Case originally purchased the properties without financing in 2015 through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement.
NEW YORK CITY — Alpha Realty has arranged the sales of four apartment and mixed-use properties in Brooklyn neighborhoods. The transactions include a 16-unit apartment building at 354 E. 54th St. in East Flatbush selling for $2.2 million, or $222 per square foot; a 16-unit apartment building at 845 Schenectady Ave. in Flatbush trading for $2.2 million; a six-unit multifamily property at 540 Bainbridge St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant selling for $2.8 million, or $514 per square foot; and a four-story mixed-use building located at 278 Albany Ave. in Crown Heights for $2.4 million. Lev Mavashev and Jacob Aronov of Alpha Realty handled the off-market transactions. The names of the buyers and sellers were not released.