LEXINGTON, MASS. — GE Real Estate has provided a $70 million loan for the refinancing of the Lexington Tech Park portfolio in Lexington. The portfolio comprises three Class A office and research properties — located at 125 Spring St., 300 Patriot Way and 500 Patriot Way — that total 278,905 square feet. The properties are situated on a 96.5-acre campus and are 89.4 percent leased to two major life sciences tenants. Two of the properties are fully occupied until 2023. The largest tenant is Shire, which is using the space as the global headquarters of its Human Genetic Therapies division. GE led a syndicate that included Worcester, Mass.-based Commerce Bank and Danvers, Mass.-based Danversbank to provide the funding, which also includes a $7.8 million line of credit for additional improvements and lease-up. Other terms of the loan include a 3-year term and a flexible fixed interest rate. David Douvadjian and Tom Welch of Colliers Meredith & Grew brokered the transaction. The borrower is Boston-based Patriot Partners.
NEW YORK CITY — Crown Acquisitions has acquired 1553 Westchester Avenue, a newly constructed, 10,000-square-foot retail property located in the Bronx, New York City, in a $6 million transaction. AT&T has already signed a lease for 2,500 square feet at the property, and will anchor the Ward Avenue corner of the property. The lease transaction was negotiated by Winick Realty. Crown Acquisitions will direct the leasing of the remaining 7,500 square feet. The seller was not disclosed.
PATERSON, N.J. — Livingston, N.J. — Gebroe-Hammer Associates (GHA) has arranged the sale of an 18-unit garden-apartment property, located at 122-132 N. 7th St. in Paterson, for $1.47 million. The two-story building is composed of 14 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units. It was fully occupied at the time of closing. Jay Lombardo and Michael Petrak of GHA represented the seller, a private investor, and procured the buyer, 122-132 North 7th Street LLC. The property traded at a price of $82,000 per unit.
YORK, PA. — Chicago-based First Industrial Realty Trust has broken ground for the development of Commerce Park in York. The 1.1 million-square-foot manufacturing plant and distribution center is being developed as a build-to-suit project for Church & Dwight Co. (C&D). The household products manufacturer will consolidate the company’s central New Jersey operations into the new location. The building is situated on 232 acres, and has expansion capability of up to 1.9 million square feet. The project is also seeking LEED certification. First Industrial, which is developing the project, also sold the site to C&D. Joseph McDermott and James Carter of CB Richard Ellis’ Wayne, Pa., office and Mindy Lissner of the company’s East Brunswick, N.J., office negotiated the build-to-suit transaction. The total project cost is expected to exceed $170 million.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based SL Green Realty Corp. is undertaking a $160 million renovation of 1515 Broadway, a 54-story office tower located on Times Square in Manhattan, New York City. The most notable improvements to the approximately 2 million-square-foot tower include a 42-foot vertical extension of the building’s curtain wall, as well as the re-cladding of all of the exterior limestone surfaces with brushed aluminum panels. Other renovations include a redesign of the lobby with 5,000 square feet of custom art glass wrapping the walls; new elevator cabs; new common corridors and bathrooms; increased electrical capacity; HVAC upgrades; plumbing and fire protection improvements; and the addition of a new freight elevator. The project is applying for LEED-Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. SL Green is aiming to upgrade the building to “best in class” status with the project. Completion is expected in late 2009.
MILLBURY, MASS. — Grubb & Ellis has brokered the sale of a 101,500-square-foot industrial property, located at 12 Latti Farm Rd. in Millbury, for $7 million. The property contains office, manufacturing and warehouse space. It is leased on a long-term basis to Cameron International, a manufacturer and service provider for the oil and gas industry. Bradford Spencer and Anthony Biette of Grubb & Ellis represented the seller, Latti Farm Realty LLC. The buyer was First American Realty.
BROOKLINE, MASS. — Boston-based EagleBridge Capital has arranged an $11 million loan for a 21,226-square-foot retail property located at 1285 Beacon St. in the Coolidge Corner district of Brookline. The newly constructed property consists of the two-story shopping center and two levels of underground parking; tenants include Staples Express and Bodyscapes. Brian Sheehan and Ted Sidel of EagleBridge arranged the financing, which includes a sub-5 percent, floating interest rate with the option to convert it into a fixed rate. The loan was placed with a national commercial bank.
RARITAN, N.J. — Short Hills, N.J.-based Garden Commercial Properties will hold the grand opening this month for the first retail tenants at Raritan Town Square, a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use project located at the intersection of State Route 31 and County Route 523 in Raritan. Set to open are Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, which will serve as one of the center’s anchors, and Longhorn Steakhouse. Construction will also begin this fall for a second anchor tenant, a 145,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, with completion scheduled for mid-2009. Once construction is fully complete, Raritan Town Square will comprise 12 buildings, as well as a landscaped central green space that will provide walking paths and space for outdoor events. In addition to a community shopping center component, the project will include an entertainment and civic center.
UNION CITY, N.J. — Livingston, N.J.-based Jarmel Kizel Architects & Engineers has been selected by Lakewood, N.J.-based W Developers to provide architectural and engineering services for the construction of The Thread, a 15-story luxury residential condominium project located at 3312 Hudson Ave. in Union City. The building features 151 one-, two- and three-bedrooms residences. Building amenities include a recreation room, a fitness center, a children’s playroom, an onsite parking garage, a doorman, and a landscaped outdoor plaza with barbecues, a putting green and a children’s play area. Upon completion, the project will be the city’s first luxury high-rise condominium.
NEW YORK CITY — Construction is advancing for SJP Properties’ 11 Times Square, a 40-story, 1.1 million-square-foot commercial tower located on Eighth Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets in Manhattan, New York City. The project is on schedule for a 2010 completion, with steel currently erected to the 30th floor and the building’s unique concrete core completed up to the 39th floor. The building is presently the largest speculative office building under construction in Midtown Manhattan. SJP will be seeking LEED-Gold certification for the project.