BOSTON — Beacon Communities has completed the renovation of Lenox Apartments, a 285-unit affordable housing community in the South End/Lower Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. Lenox Apartments comprises 13 buildings and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. According to Beacon Communities, the property was originally built in 1939 as the first public housing project in Boston dedicated to serving African Americans. The renovation was funded through a mix of state and federal housing and historic tax credits, as well as public and private loans.
CHELSEA, MASS. — Regional brokerage firm Northeast Private Client Group (NEPCG) has negotiated the $8.4 million sale of a portfolio of six apartment buildings totaling 27 units in Chelsea, located on the southern outskirts of Boston. The buildings are situated across three contiguous parcels at 31-47 Louis St. Drew Kirkland, Francis Saenz and Jim Casey of NEPCG represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which requested anonymity, in the transaction.
GREENWICH, CONN. — Stark Office Suites has signed a 23,538-square-foot office lease extension and expansion in the southern coastal Connecticut city of Greenwich. The provider of flexible workspace solutions is taking an additional 5,772 square feet at 777 West Putnam, a 134,000-square-foot building located along U.S. Route 1. James Ritman and Benjamin Goldstein of Newmark represented the landlord, New York-based investment firm Shelbourne, in the lease negotiations. The tenant was self-represented.
NEW YORK CITY AND DENVER — Private equity behemoth Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has agreed to acquire AIR Communities (NYSE: AIRC) for $10 billion in an all-cash deal that would take the Denver-based multifamily REIT private. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter. AIR Communities, which is formally named Apartment Income REIT Corp., owns 76 multifamily properties totaling roughly 27,000 units across 10 states and Washington D.C. The properties are primarily concentrated in coastal markets such as Los Angeles, Miami and Boston. Under the terms of the deal, Blackstone will also assume all of AIR Communities’ outstanding debt. Blackstone also plans to invest more than $400 million to maintain and improve the existing communities in the portfolio. The purchase price of $39.12 per share represents a premium of 25 percent to AIR Communities’ closing share price on April 5, 2024, the last full day of trading prior to the announcement. The price also represents a 25 percent premium to AIR Communities’ weighted average share price over the previous 30 days. “AIR Communities represents the highest quality, large-scale apartment portfolio we have ever acquired and is located in markets where multifamily fundamentals are strong,” says Nadeem Meghji, global co-head …
WILMINGTON, MASS. — Boston-based Camber Development has broken ground on a 237,800-square-foot warehouse at 800 Salem St. in the northern Boston suburb of Wilmington. Designed by Dacon Corp., the building will feature a clear height of 36 feet, 47 dock positions and parking for 332 cars and 33 trailers. Camber is developing the project in partnership between Connecticut-based Wheelock Street Capital. JLL arranged construction financing for the project, which is expected to be complete before the end of the year.
BOSTON — Newmark has arranged the sale of 179 Lincoln Street, a 221,474-square-foot office building near downtown Boston. The newly renovated building offers proximity to Boston’s South Station transit hub. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, David Douvadjian Sr., Matthew Pullen, James Tribble, Timothy O’Donnell, Samantha Hallowell and William Sleeper of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, locally based investment firm Synergy, which assumed $76.5 million of the seller’s outstanding debt on the property.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $5.6 million sale of a portfolio of three multifamily buildings totaling 56 units in Manhattan. The rent-stabilized buildings, two of which are contiguous, are located along West 111th Street near the edge of Central Park. Seth Glasser, Shaun Riney and Michael Fusco of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were private investors who requested anonymity, in the transaction.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Apple Cinemas has signed an 80,000-square-foot retail lease in White Plains, a northern suburb of New York City. Apple Cinemas will backfill a space that formerly housed a Showcase Cinema Deluxe theater. The new theater will offer stadium recliner seats, digital projection and sound capacities and food-and-beverage options, including burger concept BurgerFi. Don Mace of metro Boston-based brokerage firm KeyPoint Partners represented Apple Cinemas in the lease negotiations.
ISLANDIA, N.Y. — Forte Construction, a locally based general contractor that specializes in public works projects, has opened its new corporate headquarters facility in the Long Island community of Islandia. The company purchased the 30,000-square-foot, three-story building at 1770 Motor Parkway in 2021 as part of a planned relocation and expansion from an 8,000-square-foot facility in Holbrook. The new facility supports about 300 employees between Forte and its sister companies, TAP Electric and BR Construction.
NORTH BERGEN, N.J. — Locally based investment firm Faropoint has received a $90 million loan for the refinancing of a portfolio of 10 industrial buildings totaling 770,000 square feet in North Bergen, located across the Hudson River from New York City. The buildings are all located within two industrial parks and were fully occupied at the time of sale. New York Life Real Estate Investors provided the loan, specific terms of which were not disclosed, to Faropoint.