NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) has negotiated a 260,000-square-foot lease renewal and expansion at 125 West 55th Street, a 23-story office tower located in New York City. Sydney, Australia-based Macquarie Group will renew its lease for 100,000 square feet within the building, and is expanding by 160,000 square feet by leasing an additional six floors, plus portions of the ground and eighth floors. Josh Kuriloff and Robert Tanzmann of C&W represented Macquarie Group in the lease transaction; Andrew Levin provided in-house representation to the building’s owner, Boston Properties. 125 West 55th Street contains approximately 590,000 square feet of office space; major tenants at the building include Katz Media Group and Air France. A joint venture in which Boston Properties is a majority partner acquired the building in August of this year.
Northeast
SHREWSBURY, MASS. — Integrated Builders has completed the tenant build-out for the Shrewsbury office of Valeritas. The Parsippany, N.J.-based medical technologies company will be occupying 20,679 square feet of a 50,000-square-foot building located at 800 Boston Turnpike. The tenant build-out consisted of the construction of a modular Class 10,000 clean room, a 200-square-foot Class 100 clean room, lab space, offices, research and development areas, and a cafeteria. Integrated also completed improvements to the exterior of the building, including renovations to the façade, a new entrance, new landscaping and stone walls. The building’s landlord, Vinco Properties, hired Integrated to complete the build-out. Helicon Design Group Boston served as project architect.
YORK, PA. — A joint venture between New York City-based investment firms Ark Investment Partners, Savanna and Belfer Management has disposed of a 383,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center, located at 2995 E. Market St. in York, for $10.5 million. The joint venture acquired the property in 2003 and leased a significant portion of the formerly vacant building through a multi-million dollar capital improvements plan. It was acquired by Four Concord Partners. Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — The grand opening has been held for Banana Kelly Place, a 58-unit affordable housing community located at 830 Fox St. in the Longwood neighborhood of the South Bronx, New York City. The $14 million project was developed by the locally based Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association and CPC Resources, the for-profit development arm of The Community Preservation Corp. The seven-story building comprises 18 one-bedroom and 39 two-bedroom apartments, plus a superintendent’s unit; 18 of the units have been set aside for formerly homeless families. Rents range from $585 for a one-bedroom apartment to $867 for a two-bedroom apartment; the units are available only to those earning 60 percent or less of HUD income limits. In addition to the residences, the building includes 5,200 square feet of ground-floor space for a future child-care facility.
BOSTON — Newton, Mass.-based Diversified Project Management (DPM) has completed the renovation of Safety Insurance’s 104,000-square-foot office located at 20 Custom House St. in Boston. Renovations were made to all nine floors, the lobbies, the cafeteria and the main reception area. The space remained occupied during construction, with multiple staff relocations occurring during different stages of construction. DPM served as construction manager during the project, with Maugel Architects and Elaine Construction providing design and construction services, respectively.
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — New York City-based Meridian Capital Group has arranged $32.35 million in acquisition financing for 501 Franklin Avenue, a three-story office building located in Garden City. Situated on 8 acres, the building comprises 134,992 square feet, and also includes 550 parking spaces and its own Long Island Railroad station. The property is fully occupied by Doubleday Publishing Co. and Jet Blue Airways Corp. Abe Hirsch and Howard Abrams of Meridian arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, Great Neck, N.Y.-based Jonis Realty. Terms of the financing include a fixed interest rate and a 5-year term.
LONG BRANCH AND RED BANK, N.J. — Livingston, N.J.-based Gebroe-Hammer Associates (GHA) has brokered two separate multifamily sales for a total of more than $25 million. The two properties include Lloyd Manor, a 70-unit, garden-style apartment community located at 376 West End Ave. in Long Branch, and Colony House, a 68-unit, high-rise apartment building located at 122 N. Riverside Ave. in Red Bank. Lloyd Manor comprises 15 two-story buildings that include 40 two-bedroom and 30 three-bedroom units. It was fully occupied at the time of closing. The seven-story Colony House building contains a mix of 6 studio units, 22 one-bedroom units, 35 two-bedroom units, two three-bedroom units and three penthouses. Steven Follman of GHA represented both parties in the transaction. Lloyd Manor was sold by Lloyd Manor Associates LLC to a private, New Jersey-based investment group. Colony House was sold by Colony Realty Associates in a 1031 exchange to Park Ridge LLC.
QUINCY, MASS. — Griffith Properties has held the grand reopening for the recently renovated HarborSouth Tower, a 10-story office tower located at 100 Hancock St. in Quincy. The building contains 206,000 square feet of Class A space. Many of its renovations focus on the project’s pursuit of LEED – Core & Shell Certification. The building’s indoor air quality and use of natural light have been improved. Drought-tolerant landscaping has been planted, and the building has preferred parking for fuel-efficient cars and carpoolers. Other improvements include a new lobby, new windows, an upgraded façade, a new multi-level parking deck, a café, a fitness center and a shared conference facility. The project was undertaken by a joint venture between Griffith, and Urdang Capital Management and the company’s Value-Added Fund II. Griffith acquired the property in 2007. The general contractor for the renovation project was Suffolk Construction; ADD Inc. served as project architect. Andy Majewski, Kat Kessler and Ogden White of CB Richard Ellis are serving as exclusive leasing agents.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — Woodbridge, N.J.-based The Kislak Company has negotiated the sale of Wynnewood Greens Apartments, a 206-unit, garden-style community located in Allentown, for approximately $12 million. The two-and-a-half story property contains a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units; it was 95 percent occupied at the time of closing. Robert Holland of Kislak represented the seller, Hicksville, N.Y.-based Camelot Partners, and the buyer, Wynnewood Real Estate LP. The buyer plans to make substantial capital improvements to the property. Sovereign Bank provided acquisition financing for the transaction.
BOSTON — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has assisted in the recapitalization of 100 Arlington Street on behalf of the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School (BRCPS). The 13-story, 200,000-square-foot building is located in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood and has been occupied by BRCPS for more than 10 years. The school is using the proceeds from the recapitalization for the construction of a new school in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood; the old location will be sold. Patrick Cavanagh and Chris Angelone of CBRE and Richard Taylor of Taylor Smith Realty represented BRCPS in the transaction, and procured The Congress Group and Apollo Real Estate Advisors to recapitalize the property.