BOSTON — New York City-based investment firm Drucker Associates has completed the $5 million renovation of 211 Congress Street, a 90,000-square-foot office building in downtown Boston. The project, which is expected to be complete before the end of the year, will deliver a modern lobby, upgraded elevators and restrooms, new storefronts and a refreshed retail façade. Newmark is both the office and retail leasing agent for 211 Congress Street.
HANOVER, PA. — Kerry Group, an Irish food-and-beverage company, will open a 48,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley city of Hanover. Kerry has leased a building that was formerly occupied by beverage maker Martin Bauer Group with plans to use the facility for coffee roasting and extraction. Kerry expects the facility to create about 60 new jobs in addition to 16 positions that will be retained from the previous operation. The opening is set for some time next year.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Infinite Global Real Estate Partners and Buttonwood Development has purchased an office building in Midtown Manhattan with plans to implement a residential conversion. The partnership plans to transform the building at 29 W. 35th St., which was previously foreclosed upon, into a 107-unit apartment complex in which 75 percent (80) of the units will be rented at market rates. The remaining 27 units will be reserved as affordable housing. Residences will exclusively come in studio formats and will range in size from 400 to 575 square feet. Ismael Leyva Architects is designing the conversion, and Archstone is serving as the general contractor. Allegiant is the lender, and additional equity partners include 400 Capital Management LLC, L&L Holding (also the project manager) and Terracotta Management.
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $11.3 million sale of Village Square Plaza, a 53,077-square-foot retail property located in the Central New Jersey community of Lawrenceville. First Bank anchors the property, which was built on a 7.7-acre site in 1990 and was 97 percent leased at the time of sale. Additional tenants include Kumon, Eastern Dental and Princeton Brain & Spine. Alan Cafiero and Brent Hyldahl of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
SOUTH WINDSOR, CONN. — JLL has arranged a $9.5 million loan for the refinancing of a 115,800-square-foot industrial building in South Windsor, located northeast of Hartford. The building at 555 Nutmeg Road was constructed on 12.1 acres in 1980 and was fully leased at the time of sale to wholesale tire distributor US Autoforce. Max Custer, Ryan Carroll and Michael Donohoe of JLL arranged the five-year, fixed-rate loan through an undisclosed life insurance company on behalf of the borrower, Snowball Developments.
MORGANVILLE, N.J. — CBRE has brokered the $6.9 million sale of an industrial outdoor storage (IOS) facility in the Central New Jersey community of Morganville. The 21,000-square-foot facility at 173 Amboy Road was originally constructed in 1988, and the property includes 4.8 acres of outdoor storage space. Liam McGregor, Mark Silverman, Brian Fiumara and Elli Klapper of CBRE represented the buyer, private industrial investment firm Genesis, in the off-market transaction. The seller was not disclosed.
GREENWICH, CONN. — Industrious has signed a 17,773-square-foot office lease in the southern coastal Connecticut city of Greenwich. The provider of flexible workspaces will occupy the first floor of Building 5 at Greenwich Office Park, an eight-building, 385,000-square-foot campus. David Block of CBRE represented the landlord, Fareri Associates, in the lease negotiations. Cushman & Wakefield represented Industrious.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — National Development has purchased Watertown Mall, located on the western outskirts of Boston, with plans to enhance the property and continue its operation as a retail destination, as confirmed in a statement by the regional owner-operator. According to reports from multiple publications, including Axios and the Boston Business Journal, the sales price was $100 million, and the purchase represents a split from an original plan to repurpose the property to support life sciences usage. Best Buy and Target are the current anchors of Watertown Mall. The seller was not disclosed.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Lee & Associates has brokered the $33.2 million sale of a 102,000-square-foot academic building located at 75 W. Huron St. in Buffalo. The Buffalo School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management occupies the entirety of the seven-story building, which was originally built in the late 19th century as a horse livery and was later used as a multi-story parking garage before being transformed into a school. Dave Carswell and Ben Tapper of Lee & Associates represented the seller, locally based firm McGuire Development Co., in the transaction. Carswell also assisted the buyer, Mercer Street Partners, in securing acquisition financing for the deal.
LOWER MACUNGIE, PA. — New Jersey-based Woodmont Properties has begun leasing a 120-unit multifamily project in the Lehigh Valley community of Lower Macungie. The project, which represents Phase II of a larger development known as Woodmont Valley, comprises 10 buildings and 13,000 square feet of commercial space on a 14-acre site. The majority (99) of the units are designed as two-bedroom townhome-style residences, while the remaining 21 units are flat-style apartments that come in one- and two-bedroom formats. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, clubhouse and resident lounge, outdoor grilling and dining stations, a game room, theater, bark park, walking trails and package concierge service. Construction of Phase II began last fall. Phase I totals 204 units and was completed in 2017. Colliers is leasing the commercial component.