CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Two apartment buildings in Cambridge have sold for $16 million. Located in Harvard Square, the 53-unit portfolio includes 48 JFK and 115 Mt. Auburn streets. The property at 115 Mt. Auburn St. is a 31-unit building, while 48 JFK St. is a 22-unit building with one retail suite. Boston Realty Advisors represented the seller, Benicon Moskow Trust. Ross Duncan of Hammond Residential procured the buyer.
ROCHESTER, N.H. — 41 Old Dover Rd. LLC has purchased a 16,650-square-foot industrial building in Rochester for $325,000. The building is located at 41 Old Dover Rd. and the new owners plan to construct an 18,700-square-foot addition to the existing building. David Choate of Grubb & Ellis/Northern New England's Portsmouth office represented the seller, the DiGovanni Family Trust, in the deal. He also procured the buyer.
NEW YORK CITY — A development site at 1002 Bushwick Ave. in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood has sold for $1.3 million. The site includes an 8,810-square-foot building with an auditorium, common kitchen and a 5,000-square-foot parking lot. The building is currently used to host international volunteers for a local non-profit. The site offers approximately 26,740 buildable square feet. Michael Amirkhanian of Massey Knakal represented the buyer, a local developer, and the seller in the deal. The new owner plans to convert the building into apartments.
WHITEHALL, PA. — FL Smidth, an equipment and services provider for the cement and mineral industries, has signed a 15,575-square-foot lease at Riverside Business Center in Whitehall. The company will use the space to manufacture materials used in making turbine blades. John Crampsie of NAI Summit's Allentown, Pa. office represented the both the building owner and tenant in the deal.
BOSTON — Alan Gray Inc. has signed a 13,434-square-foot lease renewal at 88 Broad St. in Boston. Christian Gotfredson of NAI Hunneman represented the property owner, Bay State Realty in the deal. He also assisted the tenant. Located in Boston's Financial District, 88 Broad St. is a 63,829-square-foot office building. Alan Gray Inc. is an international insurance claims management and financial services firm.
BURLINGTON, MASS. — Sonesta International Hotels Corp. plans to convert a 141-room Staybridge Suite in Burlington to its new Sonesta ES Suites upscale extended-stay brand this June. Located 15 miles from Boston, the Sonesta ES Suites will include “oversized” suites, ranging from 400 to 750 square feet, and fully equipped kitchens and work areas. The hotel will also include a heated outdoor pool and 24-hour exercise room. The conversion marks the debut of the new brand.
NEW YORK CITY — Gene Kaufman Architects has been selected to design 500 Metropolitan Ave., a 200,000-square-foot, mixed-use development in Brooklyn. The 15-story building is slated to include 189 hotel rooms, 58 condominiums and street-level shops. The property will also contain athletic facilities, catering and event space and a spa. The Chetrit Group is the project developer.
METHUEN, MASS. — Beech Street has arranged an $11.2 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Colonial Village, a 148-unit apartment complex in Methuen. The six-building property was built in 1970, with a club house added in 1978. Michael Edelman of Beech Street's New York office originated the 10-year, fixed-rate loan. The loan has 2.5 years of interest-only payments.
PRINCETON, N.J. — The Landis Group has completed renovation work on the 120-room The Residence Inn by Marriott at Carnegie Center in Princeton. The plan included upgrading the guest rooms, expanding the breakfast area and installing a new buffet and enhancing the lobby. The hotel, which is located at 3563 U.S. Route 1, was developed by Landis. Paramount Hotel Group manages the property.
Driven by robust demand from tech and media companies, operations in Manhattan will recover at a moderate pace, though trouble looms in the financial industry. Turbulence in the global economy, a political gridlock in Washington, D.C., and new regulations will prompt hedge funds and investment banks to shed jobs. A few of these users will offer space for sublease to cut costs, which will encourage landlords in Midtown to offer lucrative concessions to compete for tenants. Midtown South will boast the tightest vacancy in Manhattan in 2012 as media and tech firms backfill space, while the redevelopment of Hudson Yards will ignite leasing activity in the area. Tenants priced out of Midtown will target downtown, where Condé Nast expanded its lease at One World Trade Center to 1.2 million square feet. In Brooklyn, the New York City Human Resources Administration will consolidate operations into 400,000 square feet near Atlantic Yards this year, which will further transform the area. New York City fundamentals remain among the best in the country. Citywide, payrolls will grow 1.5 percent this year, or 56,000 jobs, while office-using sectors will gain 15,000 positions. In all five boroughs, approximately 1 million square feet of office space will …