CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Google has signed a 15-year lease for 362,000 square feet at 325 Main St. in the Kendall Square neighborhood of Cambridge. The lease agreement brings Google’s total footprint in Cambridge to more than 800,000 square feet. The new, 16-story building at 325 Main St. will include approximately 400,000 rentable square feet. The property will replace the existing 115,000-square-foot building currently on site. Construction is expected to commence later this year and be completed in 2022. Boston Properties is developing the new, 16-story building at 325 Main St.
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $13.5 million sale of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Englewood. Located at 401 South Van Brunt St., the 113,202-square-foot hotel is set on more than five acres. Alan Cafiero, Ben Sgambati and Michael DeVita of Marcus & Millichap’s New Jersey office represented the seller, a private investor, in the transaction. The buyer was also a private investor.
DEDHAM, MASS. — EagleBridge Capital has secured a $17.8 million construction loan for Dior, a four-story, mixed-use development in Dedham. Located at 910-928 Providence Highway, the 46,525-square-foot property consists of 48 one- and two-bedroom residential units as well as 9,700 square feet of street-level retail space. The apartments will feature Energy Star rated stainless steel appliances, drawer microwaves, custom cabinetry and quartz counters. Brian Sheehan and Ted Sidel of EagleBridge secured the financing on behalf of the undisclosed borrower through an undisclosed Massachusetts financial institution. Terms of the financing were not disclosed.
MECHANICSBURG, PA. — CBRE has arranged the sale of two office buildings totaling 76,972 square feet in Mechanicsburg. The sales price was undisclosed. The two properties are located at 4999 Louise Drive and 5053 Ritter Road and total 56,494 square feet and 20,478 square feet respectively. Michael Curran of CBRE represented the buyer, Linlo Properties, in the transaction. The seller was Members 1st Federal Credit Union, which will lease back a portion of both buildings as it searches for a new corporate headquarters.
READING, MASS — Nauset Construction has broken ground on The PostMark, a mixed-use complex in Reading. Located at 136 Haven St., the project will include 50 condominium units and 8,000 square feet of commercial space. The complex will also include a below-grade parking garage and landscaped courtyard. A joint venture between DiBiase Homes and Matrix Property Group are developing the complex. O’Sullivan Architects of Reading served as the architect on the project.
Over the course of the last decade, we have seen a major evolution in retail real estate. Super regional malls and enclosed shopping centers, which once dominated the landscape, are being replaced by immersive, open-air centers that provide visitors with more than just a place to shop. Successful retail centers today are a destination — they provide excellent food and dining, aesthetically pleasing environments with open public space, and entertainment tenants and events that engage shoppers to stay longer, come back frequently and use the center as a hub for creating memories with friends and family. At the fifth annual Entertainment Experience Evolution conference, which took place at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills on February 12 and 13, the industry gathered together to take a closer look at the keys to success when embracing and implementing this trend at existing centers and new developments across the country. Does Entertainment Really Drive Foot Traffic? The conference opened with a keynote speech centered on an imperative question that many might be asking — does adding an entertainment element actually drive success and greater foot traffic to a center? And — more importantly — are there statistics to back this up? …
A highly educated workforce is driving corporate growth throughout Boston, particularly in the finance, technology and medical sectors. PNC Financial Services and JPMorgan Chase have announced considerable expansions and some international companies, including LogPoint, are setting up North American operations in the Boston metro. As a result, approximately 47,100 positions were created since October 2017, building on the 39,400 jobs added in the prior 12-month period. The pace of hiring has kept the unemployment rate in the low 3 percent band, making it difficult for employers to find quality workers. Overall, healthy employment growth continues to draw more residents and underpins household formation, fueling the need for quality housing. High home prices, however, are putting homeownership out of reach for many, boding well for apartment demand. As a result, vacancy rates remain considerably tight, resting below 4 percent in the third quarter. The still tight vacancy rate is creating a shortage of housing throughout Boston, particularly for lower income households. Consequently, vacancy in Class C apartments has held below 3 percent during the past two annual periods ending in September. Effective rent in these spaces is roughly between $700 and $1,800 per month less than Class A and B spaces, …
In the greater Boston area, over just the past decade, a whole new kind of neighborhood has been popping up. From Ink Block in the South End to the Seaport of Boston and Assembly Row in Somerville, it’s no secret that retail developers are evolving with the times by shifting their focus from traditional shopping malls to integrating retail into new and dynamic mixed-use developments offering housing, retail, entertainment, office space, parking and more. But no two cities are alike. Successful developers are in the business of staying ahead of the trends in how and where people want to shop, which in turn maps them back to how people want to live, work and play. A number of major players in the area, including Wilder, have deconstructed the key elements unique to Boston that converged into the making of these new greater Boston neighborhoods. Reinventing Malls Across the country, there’s a great deal of retail space that’s become available as a result of brick and mortar store closings. Most of these old centers have desirable locations, so it really comes down to a matter of them needing to be repurposed. There’s tremendous opportunity to recreate neighborhoods and bring in housing, office space and hotels …
Seniors housing seemed to rule the roost among attendees at MBA’s CREF 2019. Mark Gould, national production manager at M&T Realty Capital Corporation, thinks he knows why. The obvious answer would be the aging Boomer population, which will continue to require additional services for some time. However, Gould believes it’s more than demographics. He asserts that a tangible evolution has taken place among seniors housing operators that has made these dwellings more attractive to the elderly and their children. As demand shifts, opportunity abounds. Gould believes construction and permanent financing will remain active as these operators continue to perfect their communities. Watch the video for more insights on seniors housing finance from Gould.
BOSTON — Skanska and PGIM Real Estate have sold The Harlo, a 17-story multifamily tower in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston. Global real estate investment manager Invesco Real Estate purchased the property for $150 million. The 183,000-square-foot property includes 212 boutique apartments as well as retail space. At the time of sale, the property was 98 percent leased.