PHILADELPHIA — Real estate technology firm Compass Inc. has signed a 17,239-square-foot office lease at 1430 Walnut St. in Philadelphia. Built in 2015, the property also houses tenants such as The Cheesecake Factory and Verizon Innovation Center. Craig Scheuerle and Matthew Guerrieri of Newmark represented the landlord and developer, Midwood Investment & Development, in the lease negotiations. Joshua Meltzer and Jay Joyce of Savills Inc. represented the tenant.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) has broken ground on the Moderna Science Center, a 462,000-square-foot research and development facility located at 325 Binney St., less than one mile from the company’s global headquarters in the Boston-area community of Cambridge. The biotechnology company is a pioneer in the usage of messenger RNA (mRNA) for therapeutics and vaccines, including one of the earliest and most effective vaccinations against the COVID-19 virus. Moderna plans to use this site to advance its pipeline of mRNA research, which includes 37 programs currently in development and 22 ongoing clinical studies. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. is developing the property, which will include custom scientific spaces for research and development, as well as collaborative office space. JLL represented Moderna in the acquisition of the development site. The project is targeting LEED Platinum certification and is scheduled for completion in 2023. “We have been located in Massachusetts since our founding more than 10 years ago and are proud to be based here,” says Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. “As we advance our mRNA platform and science, our new science center will integrate digital-first scientific research and development labs along with space for innovation and co-creation with our …
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Small-Balance Multifamily: Sizable and Resilient
While new-builds and top-of-the-line, large-scale developments typically attract the most buzz in the multifamily world, the vast majority of apartment properties in the United States have fewer than 100 units. These smaller properties play a vital role in delivering affordable and workforce rental housing inventory to the U.S. population. While the commercial real estate industry may refer to this sector of the multifamily market as “small,” make no mistake, “small” multifamily is not insignificant or inferior — it’s sizable and resilient. As other commercial real estate sectors paused during COVID-19, smaller multifamily properties and small-balance lending thrived. What does the future hold for this market? The Small Multifamily Market Defined The small multifamily market is highly fragmented with no clear definition of what constitutes “small” among capital sources. Generally, market statistics define the “small” multifamily sector by at least one of two measures: Unit count between five and 99 units; and/or Principal loan balance at origination between $1 million and $10 million[1] Strong Demand and Operating Fundamentals While the pandemic negatively impacted many areas of commercial real estate, with offices, retail shops and hotels largely shuttered across the U.S., the multifamily market remained resilient. Despite the past year’s challenges, multifamily …
HOLBROOK, MASS. — Port One Cos. and Tiderock Cos. have formed a partnership to develop a 410-unit seniors housing community on a 48-acre parcel in Holbrook, approximately 15 miles south of Boston. The estimated budget for this project is $190 million. The developers are under contract to acquire the site for $19 million. Tiderock will provide operational support and oversight including but not limited to project management, marketing, budgeting, product mix and review of and negotiations for limited partner equity and debt. Further details on the project were not disclosed.
BOSTON — Shawmut Design & Construction has completed the $115 million expansion of the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University. The building was originally constructed in 1970. The three-year, four-phase project increased the building’s size by about 48,000 square feet and expanded clinical spaces by 70 percent to improve students’ educational experience and enhance patient care. Shawmut also added a learning simulation center, predoctoral patient treatment center and more collaborative workspaces for students as part of the project.
NEW YORK CITY — Charlotte, N.C.-based Grubb Properties will develop a 317-unit mixed-income project that will be located at 25-01 Queens Plaza North in the borough’s Long Island City area. The 17-story building will comprise about 220 market-rate units and 97 units that will be reserved for renters earning less than 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), as well as 9,000 square feet of retail space. Grubb Properties will operate the building under its Link brand, which provides housing geared toward renters earning between 60 and 140 percent of AMI. A construction timeline has not yet been finalized.
WARREN, N.J. — Newmark has arranged the $19 million sale of two office buildings totaling 140,000 square feet in Warren, located about 30 miles outside New York City. At the time of sale, the properties were 81 percent leased to R&D, technology, product development, distribution, assembly and office users. Kevin Welsh, Brian Schulz, Jason Emrani, Steven Schultz and Dan Reider of Newmark represented the seller, a joint venture between Ivy Realty and Waterfall Asset Management, in the transaction. The team also procured the undisclosed buyer.
PHILADELPHIA — Novaya Foxfield Industrial, the Mid-Atlantic investment arm of Novaya Real Estate Ventures and Foxfield Ventures, has purchased a 360,800-square-foot industrial facility in Philadelphia for $8.5 million. Novaya Foxfield purchased the nine-building complex from metals processor and recycler Thalheimer Brothers LLC, which will retain occupancy of the space via a 20-year sale-leaseback agreement. Steve Marzullo, Adam Silverman, Bruce Westwood-Booth and Kyle Sals of CBRE brokered the deal.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Indianapolis-based Duke Realty has completed a 622,230-square-foot, build-to-suit industrial project for Bob’s Discount Furniture in the Northern New Jersey community of Piscataway. Building features include 40-foot clear heights, 125 dock doors, 302 automobile parking spaces and 127 trailer parking spaces. The Connecticut-based national discount retailer, which operates 150 stores across 23 states, expects to bring hundreds of new jobs to the area in the coming years as it expands its supply chain and distribution network.
STATE COLLEGE, PA. — Aspen Heights Partners, an Austin-based developer of apartment and student housing communities, has broken ground on Aspen East Penn, a 651-bed multifamily project in State College, home of Penn State University. The two-building property will be located less than a mile from campus and will house 24,299 square feet of ground-floor retail space. In addition, Aspen East Penn will feature one-, two-, three-, four- and five-bed floor plans across its 262 units, 28 of which will be reserved as workforce housing. Amenities will include a pool, courtyard and an outdoor terrace. Completion is slated for 2023.