CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Novartis has announced plans to complete a 5-year, $600 million expansion of its research headquarters campus in Cambridge. An additional 400,00 square feet of laboratory, office and retail space will be constructed on 4 acres the company is currently leasing from MIT, which is located adjacent to Novartis' campus. Construction is expected to begin in 2011. Novartis currently occupies 1 million square feet of laboratory and office space; it is the city's largest corporate employer.
NEW YORK AND MASSACHUSETTS — Healthcare Trust of America (HTA) has entered into agreements to acquire a portfolio of nine medical office buildings for $196.64 million. The portfolio, which totals 960,000 square feet of space, consists of properties located in Albany, N.Y.; North Adams, Mass.; and Temple Terrace, Fla. The medical office buildings are located on and off hospital campuses, and include single- and multi-tenant buildings. The average building age is 8 years. The portfolio was 98 percent leased at the time of closing. The seller's name was not released.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Cambridge-based architecture and planning fir Bruner/Cott has completed two new residence halls for Lesley University in Cambridge. The project is the first ground-up construction completed at the school since 1973. The first building consists of a five-story residence hall with ground-floor retail space that faces Massachusetts Avenue. The second building is a three-story, wood-framed residence hall located on Wendell Street. Both of the buildings were designed to match the character of the respective streets.
VOORHEES, N.J. — The Township of Voorhees has signed an agreement with Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) that will relocate the Voorhees Town Hall to PREIT's Voorhees Town Center project. The township will own the 24,300-square-foot space, which will open next spring on the second level of the mall. PREIT is in the middle of an $83 million redevelopment of Voorhees Towen Center that is repositioning it as a mixed-use destination center. In addition to the mall, the project contains an office building and 425 luxury apartments and condominiums.
ROBINSON, PA. — Arbor Commercial Funding has arranged a $13.76 million Fannie Mae DUS loan for Westpointe Apartments, a 291-unit multifamily community located in Robinson. The loan carries a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule. Ronen Abergel of Arbor's New York City office originated the financing on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Beech Street Capital has arranged $9.5 million in Fannie Mae DUS funds for the refinancing of a multifamily property in Brooklyn. The building, which is located at 713 Classon Ave., was formerly part of the original Jewish Hospital but was converted into a 76-unit apartment building in 2002. Meridian Capital Group originated the loan. The borrower's name was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Sesame Workshop, the educational nonprofit responsible for Sesame Street, has renewed its lease at One Lincoln Plaza in Manhattan. The tenant occupies 140,000 square feet, consisting of the second, third, fourth and eighth floors of the building. As part of the lease renewal, the landlord, locally based Ogden CAP Properties, will complete infrastructure upgrades including new windows and mechanical systems. The Newmark Knight Frank team of Barry Gosin, Moshe Sukenik and Robin Fisher represented Sesame Workshop in lease negotiations. Ogden CAP Properties provided in-house representation.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Jonathan Rose Cos. and Malkin Properties have broken ground for the next phase of the Metro Green transit-oriented community. Metro Green Residences will consist of 50 mixed-income residences and ground-floor commercial space. Forty of the units will be reserved for reduced-income households. The project, which was designed by Perkins Eastman Architects, will be seeking LEED-Gold certification. Completion for the $27 million project is expected in 2011. At full build-out, Metro Green will contain 238 residences, a 350,000-square-foot office tower and ground-floor commercial space, all within walking distance of the Stamford Metro North Train Station. The project is seeking the Gold level of LEED for Neighborhood Development certification.
WAYNE, N.J. — UPS has signed a lease for 120,000 square feet of Class A office space in Wayne. The company will occupy almost all of the four-story, 163,000-square-foot building located at 1655 Valley Road. It is relocating from offices in Morris Township, N.J. Tom Consiglio of Resource Realty represented UPS in lease negotiations. The landlord is Prism Capital Partners.
NEW YORK CITY — Massey Knakal Realty Services has negotiated the sale of a 12,960-square-foot office building located in Manhattan's Flatiron neighborhood for $6.5 million. The six-story property was constructed in 1893 and includes an additional 11,700 square feet of development rights. Massey Knakal's John Ciraulo and Michael Azarian brokered the deal.