MALDEN, MASS. — Burgess Properties Inc. has brokered the $11.8 million sale of three office buildings totaling 34,696 square feet in Malden, a northern suburb of Boston. Located at 15-23 Pleasant St., 11 Dartmouth St. and 17 Dartmouth St., the buildings are situated in close proximity to each other as well as to the Malden Orange Line T and Commuter Rail Stop transit lines. Steve Nohrden of Burgess Properties represented the seller, North River Malden II, in the transaction. Nohrden also represented the buyer, Boston-based developer Quaker Lane Capital.
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — Bose Corp. will close all of its 54 stores in the U.S., as well as many remaining locations in Australia, Japan and Europe in the coming months, totaling 119 brick-and-mortar locations. The Framingham-based company, which specializes in audio engineering, said the closures are due to “dramatic” shifts to online shopping. Bose opened its first store in 1993 and currently has its biggest concentration of stores in the Northeast (10), Southern California (nine) and Florida (seven). “Originally, our retail stores gave people a way to experience, test and talk to us about multi-component, CD and DVD-based home entertainment systems,” says Colette Burke, vice president of global sales at Bose. “At the time, it was a radical idea, but we focused on what our customers needed, and where they needed it — and we’re doing the same thing now.” Furthermore, as smartphones changed the industry, Bose focused on mobile, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi solutions. Today, the company said its major products are being purchased through e-commerce channels, including Bose.com. Bose says it will continue to operate 130 stores in China, the United Arab Emirates, India, Southeast Asia and South Korea. The privately held company said it will not disclose how many …
BOSTON — Blackstone Real Estate has acquired 179 Lincoln Street, a 221,474-square-foot office asset in the Boston Leather District. Completed in 1899, the building recently underwent a $20 million redevelopment and now offers amenities such as a café, fitness center and a parking garage. At the time of sale, the building was 88 percent leased to tenants including project management software providers Smartsheet and PowerAdvocate, as well as advertising company Outfront Media. Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and James Tribble led a Newmark Knight Frank team that represented the seller, Invesco Real Estate, in the transaction. The sales price was undisclosed.
BLUE BELL, PA. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $40 million sale of Centre Square Commons, an 88,598-square-foot retail center in Blue Bell, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. A 22,450-square-foot Aldi Supermarket anchors the shopping center, which was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale. Other tenants include Pennsylvania Fine Wine & Spirits Signature Premium Store, Starbucks and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza. Brad Nathanson of Institutional Property Advisors represented the seller, Kinsley Properties, in the transaction. Nathanson also procured the buyer, Medipower Overseas Co.
SHELTON, CONN. — CBRE has brokered the sale of Avalon Shelton, a 250-unit multifamily community located in Shelton, a western suburb of New Haven. Built in 2013, Avalon Shelton offers one- and two-bedroom units with amenities including a fitness center, pool, resident lounge and covered structured parking with direct access to each residential floor. The property is located along the bank of the Housatonic River. Jeffrey Dunne, Gene Pride and Stuart MacKenzie of CBRE represented the owner, AvalonBay Communities, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, Merion Realty Partners.
NEW YORK CITY — Fitness Factory Health Club has signed an 18,000-square-foot lease s at 475 Clermont, a 363-unit multifamily building in Brooklyn. The lease term is 10 years. The facility will feature weight and circuit training equipment and a spa, as well as specialty class and personal training services. Beyond the Fitness Factory lease, the building has 17,000 square feet of retail space available for lease. Jason Pennington, Andrew Clemens, Benjamin Weiner and Jessica Hedrington of RIPCO Real Estate represented the landlord, RXR Realty, in the lease negotiations.
WOODBURY, N.Y. — JLL has negotiated the $4.3 million sale of a 26,000-square-foot office building in Woodbury, a city in eastern Long Island. Located at 110 Crossways Park Drive, the building offers 19,500 square feet of office space and 6,500 square feet of warehouse space with one drive-in door and 14-foot clear heights. Max Omstrom of JLL represented the buyer, Computech International, in the transaction. Harris Rousso of Real Estate Strategies Ltd. represented the undisclosed seller.
In the largest office markets of the Northeast, landlords are competing to attract valuable corporate tenants by providing the highest quality work-life balance for the region’s talented workforce. The Boston, New York and Philadelphia office markets are among the most competitive in the country. While factors like salary, commute time and personal fulfilment remain important in deciding where to work, employees are now placing more emphasis on amenities and work-life balance in their final decisions. Consequently, employers are making a point to meet those demands by investing in properties with convenient access to those amenities, in particular fitness, dining and transit. According to Colliers International, Class A office asking rents in Boston rose 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2019, commanding $100 per square foot in the city’s hottest markets. Lauren Vecchione, senior vice president in the Boston office of Colliers, says that landlords have to provide competitive amenities if they want to command and achieve the asking rents in submarkets with the strongest demand, including the Seaport, Financial District, Back Bay and Cambridge’s Kendall Square. “Larger and smaller tenants alike are focused on finding efficient spaces that allow them to build out a creative office experience for their …
NEW YORK CITY — CenterPoint Properties has acquired the Flatlands Portfolio, a 925,411-square-foot industrial portfolio comprising three buildings and a one-acre lot in Brooklyn. The three buildings are located at 101-01 Ave. D, 103-00 Foster Ave. and 101-10 Foster Ave., and the one-acre lot is between Avenue D and Foster Avenue on East 105th Street. The buildings feature clear heights ranging from 22 to 32 feet, and the portfolio was 100 percent leased to 13 tenants at the time of sale. Mat Diana, Paul Yuras and Peter Derbar of DY Realty represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction and will represent CenterPoint in leasing the portfolio moving forward.
NEW YORK CITY — Financial security company Northwestern Mutual has signed a 91,217-square-foot office lease at 200 Liberty Street, a 40-story, Class A office building in Manhattan. Northwestern will occupy the entire 30th through 32nd floors of the 1.74 million-square-foot building. Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects designed the building, which was completed in 1986. Scott Vinett of JLL represented Northwestern in the lease negotiations along with Chris Joyner and Andrew Hegmann of Fischer & Co. Mikael Nahmias represented the landlord, Brookfield Properties, on an internal basis along with Paul Glickman and John Wheeler of JLL.