LAWRENCE, MASS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 135,770-square-foot industrial property located at 516 Broadway St. in Lawrence, located north of Boston. The sale included a 275-space parking lot. The property was originally built around the turn of the 20th century and upgraded over the years, most recently to include the additions of five new truck docks and an office showroom. Harrison Klein and Luigi Lessa of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Both parties requested anonymity.
PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between locally based REIT Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) and the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) will develop a 50,000-square-foot life sciences project in Philadelphia. The property will be located adjacent to Brandywine’s Schuylkill Yards mixed-use development in the University City area. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately and to be complete in the fourth quarter.
MENLO PARK, CALIF. AND NEW YORK CITY — Flexible office space provider WeWork has entered into an agreement with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) BowX Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: BOWX) to be taken public at an initial valuation of $9 billion. A SPAC is a business entity with no commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring other companies. Menlo Park, Calif.-based BowX Acquisition Corp. is an affiliate of Bow Capital, a venture capital firm begun by Vivek Ranadive, the founder of TIBCO software and owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The transaction, which is expected to close by the third quarter, will provide New York City-based WeWork with approximately $1.3 billion of cash to fund future growth initiatives. The transaction will be funded with BowX’s $483 million of cash in trust, in addition to $800 million in private investment from capital sources such as Insight Partners, funds managed by Starwood Capital Group and others. SPACs have recently grown in popularity among private and institutional investors alike as vehicles for taking companies public. According to Forbes, which recently analyzed the U.S. activity of SPACs, these entities raised as much …
NEW YORK CITY — The General Services Administration (GSA) has tapped Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm Krueck Sexton Partners (KSP) to design the $240 million redevelopment of the Silvio J. Mollo Federal Building in New York City. Constructed in 1974, the 10-story, 160,000-square-foot building is located at 1 St. Andrew’s Plaza in Lower Manhattan and houses the offices of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Marshals Service. Enhancements will include the replacement of all major building systems, modifications to the base building structure and the installation of a new façade. Other building modifications will include the development of a new main entrance, upgrades to the building’s accessibility and security infrastructure and the implementation of a new interior design plan. As part of the project, KSP will also design two floors of swing space at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Office Building at 26 Federal Plaza that will serve as temporary accommodations for building occupants during the modernization. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2023 with completion scheduled for summer 2026.
HAVERHILL, MASS. — Edwards Vacuum, a manufacturer owned by Swedish industrial conglomerate Atlas Copco, will open a 121,800-square-foot facility in Haverhill, located north of Boston. The property will feature space for office, manufacturing, warehousing and research and development. The largest portion of the first floor centers on manufacturing, alongside warehouse/storage, R&D labs, a training room, cafeteria, fitness area and bike storage space. Offices, conference rooms and an observation room will be situated in the mezzanine area. Dacon Corp. is designing the project, which is expected to bring about 200 new jobs to the area. Completion is slated for the second quarter of 2022.
EATONTOWN, N.J. — Florida-based Rendina Healthcare Real Estate has broken ground on the RWJBarnabas Health Family Care & Wellness Center, an 82,000-square-foot project at Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, located near the Jersey Shore. The facility will feature custom-designed spaces for specialized pediatric care, women’s services and wellness resources. The building will also include a commercial-grade kitchen to support the wellness center. Completion is slated for November.
PLAINFIELD, N.J. — CBRE has negotiated the sale of a multifamily development site that will ultimately house 104 units at 803 South Ave. in Plainfield, located in the north-central part of the state. A partnership between Bennett Realty & Development and EDEN Property Co. LLC sold the site to West of Hudson Real Estate for an undisclosed price. Jeffrey Dunne, Jeremy Neuer, Gene Pride, Zach McHale, Nat Gambuzza and Trevor Fiebel of CBRE represented both parties in the deal. A construction timeline for the project was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Global private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has signed a 27,800-square-foot office lease at 425 Park Avenue, a 47-story tower in Midtown Manhattan that is nearing completion. The firm signed a 15-year lease and will relocate from the nearby Lever House building at 390 Park Ave. during the fourth quarter. Jonathan Serko, Barry Zeller, Andrew Ross, Richard Serko, Ed Donnery and Mike Middleton of Cushman & Wakefield represented Hellman & Friedman in the lease negotiations. Andrew Wiener and David Berkey represented the landlord, L&L Holding Co., on an internal basis.
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has negotiated the sale of Gallivant Times Square, a 336-room hotel located at 234 W. 48th St. in Manhattan. The 16-story building spans 209,851 square feet and offers amenities such as a fitness center, business center and meeting space. In addition, the building houses two restaurant concepts. Jeff Davis, K.C. Patel, Michele Mahl and Nikhil Chuchra of JLL represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were also undisclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — New York City-based CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) has provided a $39 million loan for the refinancing of a 95,000-square-foot medical office building located at 3 Crescent Drive near the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The property was fully leased to provider Jefferson Health at the time of the loan closing. The borrower, Norvin Healthcare Properties, acquired the asset in December 2019. Michael Gigliotti, Ryan Ade and Peter Rotchford of JLL arranged the loan.