NEW YORK CITY — BCD has represented Five Guys Burgers and Fries in a new lease transaction. Located at 690 Third Ave. in Manhattan, New York City, the 1,700-square-foot property is the restaurant’s fourth Manhattan location. The chain plans to aggressively expand throughout 2010. Alexandra Turboff of BCD represented Five Guys, and Ron Longstreet represented the landlord, Solil Management.
BOSTON — BioMed Realty Trust has closed on a $350 million loan. The proceeds of the loan were used to repay a portion of an existing $507.1 million loan for the construction of The Center for Life Science | Boston. The newly constructed facility encompasses 700,000 square feet and is located in the city’s Longwood Medical area. The 5-year loan was provided by John Hancock Life Insurance Co., TIAA-CREF and Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank AG. The loan bears a 7.5 percent interest rate.
LITCHFIELD, N.H. — Apartment Realty Advisors (ARA) has brokered the sale of a 32-acre improved site located in Litchfield. The site was sold with site plan approvals for an active adult community, Annandale on the River. Zoned for residential use, the partially developed site was improved with nine of 57 permitted independent living homes at the time of the sale. Site plan approvals are in place for the remaining 41 units to be built in Phase II. With Phase I infrastructure improvements in place, the buyer, K&M Deveopment, is currently completing three units that were partially built prior to the sale and plans to fully develop the site to comprise a total of 57 units of age 55+ independent living homes. The seller, Annandale Fields Development, LLC, was represented by ARA’s Brendan Reilly, Richard Robinson, Terry Scott and Stephen Ordway. Annandale on the River is located off of Route 3A with shore frontage on the Merrimack River and close proximity to Nashua and Manchester, N.H. The sale price was undisclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — CetraRuddy’s Hospitality Group has completed designs for CassaNY. Construction is currently underway on the 50-story independent hotel and condominium. Located at West 45th St. in Manhattan, New York City, the hotel will feature 57 residences and 166 hotel rooms and amenities such a world-class restaurant, a spa, a landscaped garden, a terrace, a lounge, and 24-hour concierge. CetraRuddy additionally serves as architect and is overseeing all construction for the project. The designs were completed in collaboration with Enrique Norten’s TEN Arquitectos. The project is anticipated to be complete in summer 2010.
RADNOR, PA. — Brandywine Realty Trust has completed a 14-year, 148,000-square-foot lease with VWR International at One Radnor Corporate Center in Radnor. The facility features 201,980 square feet of office space. VWR plans to take occupancy in February 2010. David Binswanger and Scott Gabrielsen of Binswanger represented the tenant in the transaction, and Brandywine was represented in-house by Richard McGuckin and Daniel Palazzo.
NEW YORK CITY — Sherwood Equities has completed a $24 million capital improvement program at 370 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. The 27-story, 307,000-square-foot office building, situated one block south of Grand Central Terminal, is designed for tenancies as small as 500 square feet and as large as 10,000 square feet. Currently about 93 percent occupied, 370 Lexington has both white-box and pre-built space available, with the pre-built units including pantries with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Sherwood has installed an on-site leasing and management team, and also has an in-house architect, construction team and attorney on hand to provide for tenant occupancy in as little as two weeks. Recently concluded improvements include new HVAC and sprinkler infrastructures, a modernized lobby with a new security desk and a more efficient visitor management system, an upgraded conference center that is free of charge to tenants, renovated restrooms and hallways, upgraded windows on several floors, and the creation of a basement storage space for tenants. The building exterior has been restored and boasts new signage, and retail storefronts have been upgraded for uniformity.
The Albany industrial market has become almost an incubation area for the nanotechnology industry, brining major tenants with large space needs to the area. Despite the recent downturn the industrial sector is still holding it own due to the growth and success of the technology industry. Cory M. Tyksinski, principal broker/manager of NAI Platform notes that there was an initial drop in business, but that is was more of a knee jerk reaction as the economy started to slow and then essentially skidded to a stop last year. The Upstate New York marketplace, and primarily Albany, is fairly insulated from the major downturns, and unfortunately, conversely the upswings in the marketplace,” notes Tyksinski. “That is primarily because we have the government seat here and we have a tremendous base in education, as well as in research and development and now technology.” Therefore, Tyksinski explains that once people got over the initial knee jerk reaction, the market picked back up again. “Actually, we have seen an upswing in the last 3 or 4 months,” he says. Overall the growth of the nanotechnology sector has been a real boon to the market. “We have seen a lot of what would be support …
WORCESTER, MASS. — Construction has begun for a new data center for the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The facility will be located in Worcester. Construction will consist of the renovation of 30,000 square feet within an existing 225,000-square-foot facility. The suite will include 7,000 square feet of data center and support space for the medical school, as well as the office of the president of the university. Completion is scheduled for March 2010. The construction manager for the project is Tishman Construction Corp. and the owner is Worcester City Campus Corp.
BOSTON — Four Commonwealth of Massachusetts agencies have taken 138,000 square feet of office space at 1000 Washington Street, an 11-story, 242,000-square-foot office tower located in Boston’s South End that is owned by Nordic Properties. The agencies are all part of the Department of Consumer Affairs and include the Department of Telecommunications and Cable, the Division of Banks, the Division of Insurance and the Division of Professional Licensure. They will occupy floors six through 10, and will share IT facilities and public meeting spaces. The agencies are expected to take occupancy in December. Nordblom Development Co., the parent company of Nordic, will oversee the tenant build-out, and Nordblom Management Co. will oversee property management of the building. Formerly the world headquarters for Teradyne, 1000 Washington Street is situated on a 2-acre city block adjacent to the city’s Financial District and Chinatown. It features a brand new lobby reception area with two outdoor plazas, a top-floor café, a lower-level fitness center and an attached 310-space parking garage.
SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Capital Markets Debt & Equity Group of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has secured $19 million for the refinancing of a 197,453-square-foot warehouse and office property located at 40 Hartz Way in Secaucus. The facility, which was originally constructed in 1973, has undergone significant renovations to accommodate its present anchor tenant, Major League Baseball’s MLB Network. The 142,000-square-foot space MLB Network occupies includes 24-foot clear ceilings, two broadcasting studios, 18 loading docks and broadcasting satellites. CBRE’s James Gunning and Donna Falzarano arranged the loan, which carries a 5-year term and a fixed interest rate. The borrower was Hartz Mountain Associates. The lender was a New England-based commercial bank.