The Boston industrial real estate market is definitely looking up. There has been strong positive absorption of square footage over the last three years, especially in Boston where large industrial facilities are increasingly converted to housing units, and the absorption trend is now spreading further out from the city and expanding across business categories. In Massachusetts, growth is particularly apparent in three key sectors: medical, food and auto parts. Here is a breakdown of how it’s playing out: 1. Medical. The medical field has seen extensive growth over the last couple years, particularly with medical device manufacturing, and that is good news for the industrial market. Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 company, is the leading distributor of medical and surgical supplies to the acute care market. It added to its presence in the state at 20 Freedom Way in Franklin with a 100,000-square-foot expansion. This is on top of its existing space at 135 Constitution Drive, which totals 227,000 square feet. Another example includes PSS World Medical, an American distributor of medical products, equipment, billing services and pharmaceutical-related products, which is expanding and consolidating two locations into 50,000 square feet at Walpole Park South, in a spec building that …
BURLINGTON, MASS. — KeyPoint Partners LLC has completed the sale of eight properties totaling 440,000 square feet located throughout the New England region for more than $30 million. The properties include shopping centers, mixed-use and single-tenant buildings in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. The sold properties include Shaw’s Plaza, a 121,660-square-foot shopping center in Providence, R.I.; Colony Mill Marketplace, a 112,000-square-foot mixed-use property in Keene, N.H.; The Center at Keene, a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use property also in Keene; and a 6,889-square-foot Advance Auto Parts in Groton, Conn. The properties in Massachusetts include Norfolk Commons, a new development anchored by a 14,409-square-foot freestanding Walgreens in Norfolk; Lakeview Shopping Center, a 36,250-square-foot neighborhood shopping center in Dracut; a 5,610-square-foot building fully leased to Sleepy’s and Supercuts in Salem; and 8 Brookside Road, a 40,000-square-foot industrial facility in Westford.
NEW YORK CITY — UC Funding LLC has arranged a $6.4 million construction bridge loan for a five-story, 15,763-square-foot luxury condominium development in Brooklyn. Upon completion, the five-story building will include 10 condo units. The property will feature one 537-square-foot studio condo, four one-bedroom condos that average 921 square feet, two two-bedroom condos that average 1,254 square feet, two three-bedroom condos that average 1,372 square feet and one 2,230-square-foot, four-bedroom condo. Condos will feature stainless steel appliances, granite countertops in the kitchens, marble tile flooring in the bathrooms and hardwood flooring. Community amenities will include a roof terrace, bike room, package room and virtual doorman.
COLONIA, N.J. — Ingerman and BCM Affordable Housing have broken ground on Reinhard Manor, a new affordable seniors housing community at 350 Outlook Ave. in Colonia. The project will transform a vacant and unused school facility into 62 one- and two-bedroom affordable rental residences for seniors. Ingerman was granted $8.7 million in tax credits over 10 years and a $4.8 million Community Development Block Grant to develop Reinhard Manor. The company is partnering with BCM Affordable Housing and the Woodbridge Affordable Housing Corp. to develop the community.
SADDLEBROOK, N.J. — The Hampshire Cos. has acquired a 200,000-square-foot industrial building located at 301 Mayhill St. in Saddle Brook from Arrow Fastener Co. LLC. The property is located adjacent to the Conrail freight line and also includes additional land for development. Additionally, the building offers easy access to Routes 46 and 17, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. Tom Monahan of CBRE represented The Hampshire Cos. in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Petco and Santander Bank have signed long-term leases at Jackson Heights Shopping Center in Queens. Petco signed a new lease for 13,500 square feet, which includes 11,000 square feet on the ground floor and 2,500 square feet in the basement of the stand-alone building within the shopping center. Santander Bank, formerly known as Sovereign Bank, will relocate from the ground-floor location it has occupied for the last 20 years to the opposite end-cap retail unit, taking approximately 4,000 square feet. Bill Bergman of Muss Development LLC represented the building’s owner in the Petco transaction. Brian Schuster of Ripco represented the tenant. Bergman and Stan Markowitz of Muss represented the building’s owner in the Santander Bank transaction. Dean Rosenzweig and Jeremy Scholder of CBRE represented the tenant. The 130,267-square-foot Jackson Heights Shopping Center features 24 retail stores and nine offices and is located at 31st Avenue.
NEW YORK CITY — Chesapeake Lodging Trust is converting its property at 30-32 West 31st St. in New York City to the Hyatt Herald Square. The conversion is expected to occur after the completion of a $6 million renovation. The new property is expected to open in the third quarter of this year. Designed by Paul Vega of New York-based VLDG designs, the transformation will include an all-inclusion renovation to each of the 122 guestrooms and a redesign of the lobby and the food and beverage experience. Chesapeake Lodging Trust has entered into a franchise agreement with a Hyatt affiliate to convert the property.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of an apartment building, located at 314-316 50th St. in Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. The four-story, 20-unit property sold for $2.7 million to an undisclosed private investor. Matthew Fotis and Jeb Hollingsworth of Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office represented the buyer and the undisclosed seller in the 1031 exchange sale.
CLINTON, CONN. — 30 Old Post LLC has purchased an 11.2-acre industrially zoned site in Clinton for an undisclosed price. Located at 30 Old Post Rd., the site offers active rail freight service and was previously used by Cheeseborough Ponds Company/Unilever. The buyer intends to remove the existing building, which collapsed in 2013. Kevin Geenty and Kristin Geenty of The Geenty Group brokered the transaction for the buyer and seller, Old Post Road Associates LLC. Robert Harrington III of Branford, Conn., and Alan Askinazi of New Jersey provided legal representation for the buyer, while Timothy Yolen of New Haven, Conn., provided legal services for the seller.
BELMAR, N.J. — MB1 Capital Partners has purchased the former Freedman’s Bakery building in Belmar for an undisclosed price. The company plans to renovate the property and lease the majority of the building to East Coast Beer Co., which produces a line of craft brews under the Beach Haus label. The new brewery will produce and package malt beverages for distribution to wholesalers and retailers, as well as offer educational tours and tastings. The principals of MB1 Capital Partners have an owner interest in East Coast Beer Co. Additional terms of the sale were not released.