CHICAGO — Real estate development firm Sterling Bay has licensed space to local fitness startup BOLD, which will open modular fitness pods at 1000 W. Carroll Ave. in Chicago’s Fulton Market. BOLD will enable Chicago residents to reserve private pods outfitted with fitness equipment that are cleaned to commercial-grade standards between each use. Pods can be reserved in 60-minute increments. Each one features kettlebell sets, medicine balls, bikes, rowing machines and high-definition screens for streaming guided workouts. The 320-square-foot pods are made from shipping containers. “In looking at how the pandemic so quickly impacted the ability of traditional fitness studios to operate at full capacity, it became clear that BOLD’s model for small, private training facilities could help to fill a need for Chicago gym-goers,” says Andy Gloor, CEO of Sterling Bay. Former Wall Street hedge fund investor and investment banker Jake Goldstein founded BOLD on the heels of COVID-19 as a way of offering a safe gym option that bridges the gap between physical gym space and digital fitness. BOLD uses filtration units from AEX Technology Solutions to disinfect its pods. Each pod features its own isolated HVAC air filtration system to prevent recycled air. Users are required to …
Office
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Developer DivcoWest has topped off 350 Water Street and 450 Water Street, two life sciences buildings in Cambridge that total 906,000 square feet. The buildings are located within the 45-acre Cambridge Crossing campus and will be the future home of biopharmaceutical giant Sanofi, where some 3,000 employees will work. Perkins + Will designed 350 Water Street, and NBBJ designed 450 Water Street. Other tenants at the 4.5 million-square-foot Cambridge Crossing development include Bristol Myers Squibb and Cerevel Therapeutics. Sanofi expects to take occupancy of the buildings in 2022.
BEDFORD, MASS. — Newmark has brokered the $72.5 million sale of One Patriots Park, a 143,616-square-foot life sciences building in Bedford, about 20 miles northwest of Boston. The property was 66 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Homology Medicines Inc., Novartis and N2 Biomedical. Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, Samantha Hallowell and Dominick Romano of Newmark represented the sellers, Longfellow Real Estate Partners and Bain Capital Real Estate, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, a partnership between Jumbo Capital Management and Iron Point Partners.
Skanska Sells Majority Stake in Seattle Mixed-Use Tower for $669M, Nation’s Largest Single-Property Trade Since Pandemic
by John Nelson
SEATTLE — Skanska has sold a 95 percent stake of 2+U, a 38-story mixed-use tower in downtown Seattle. South Korea-based Hana Alternative Asset Management and parent firm Hana Financial Group purchased the majority interest from the Swedish developer for $669 million. According to Skanska, the sale of 2+U is the largest single-property commercial real estate transaction in the United States since the pandemic began. Office tenants at 2+U include job search giant Indeed.com, tech firm Dropbox, coworking operator Spaces and customer experience firm Qualtrics. Retail tenants include Italian eatery Ethan Stowell Tavolàta and Seattle-based specialty coffeeshop Caffe Ladro. Hana has hired Houston-based Hines to manage 2+U. The development is situated near Seattle Art Museum, Waterfront Park, Benaroya Hall, Pike Place Market and downtown’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. Skanska delivered the 701,000-square-foot office component of 2+U, which is named after its location at Second Avenue between Union and University streets, in late 2019. The office tower is raised 85 feet off the ground and the retail component, which is still under development, is tucked underneath the podium. 2+U also includes nearly a half-acre of open space for tenant and community gatherings. Skanska will retain a 5 percent interest in 2+U and is …
NORTHBROOK, ILL. — IDEX Corp. has opened its new global headquarters in Northbrook. Architecture and engineering firm HED designed the 39,252-square-foot office. The space is situated on the third floor of an existing office building and is roughly the same size as IDEX’s former office in Lake Forest. The new headquarters features a touchless reception area, enabling visitors to check themselves in and notify employees of their arrival electronically. There are a number of tech-enabled conference rooms and a central café. IDEX develops, designs and manufactures specialty engineered products such as air bag clamps or rescue tools.
SARASOTA, FLA. — Ringling and Orange LLC, a private developer and investor based in Sarasota, will develop The Offices at Ringling Plaza, an 84,600-square-foot office building in downtown Sarasota. The 10-story asset will include five floors of parking and five floors of office space, each offering approximately 17,000 square feet. In addition, two retail spaces totaling 2,250 square feet will be located on the ground level of the building. Further amenities will include 10-foot ceilings, a rooftop amenity deck with a sky lounge and views of Sarasota Bay. The Office of Ringling Plaza will offer post-COVID-19 design elements, such as touchless entry and HVAC upgrades. The developer expects to break ground on the project in the second quarter of 2021 and deliver the building in the fourth quarter of 2022. Hoyt Architects designed the building and Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor. According to the office’s leasing agency, Ian Black Real Estate, this will be the first office building delivered in downtown Sarasota spanning more than 30,000 square feet in 20 years.
ATLANTA — The trend of working remotely swept the nation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic this year. While some are relishing the opportunity to test drive their home offices, a large number of Americans are ready to return to the workplace. According to a recent survey of employed Americans commissioned by OfficeSpace Software, 71 percent of respondents currently working from home are eager to move back to the office once it is safe to do so. Over 70 percent indicated that they feel more engaged and more productive in the office, and 80 percent indicated that they miss in-person collaboration with their coworkers. The novelty of virtual meeting programs like Zoom — a boon for keeping colleagues connected during the pandemic — has also worn thin, with 57 percent of respondents indicating that they are tired of meeting through video. The survey, which was conducted online by The Harris Poll in early December, canvassed 1,206 employed U.S. adults above the age of 18. Fewer than half of the respondents indicated that they are going into the workplace each day, with 17 percent having returned to their offices on a staggered schedule. Safety First While many are ready to …
Tri Properties | NAI Carolantic Arranges $25M Sale of Life Sciences Portfolio in Raleigh-Durham
by Alex Tostado
CARY, N.C. — Tri Properties | NAI Carolantic has arranged the $25 million sale of 13000 Weston and 14001 Weston Parkway, a two-building, 137,759-square-foot life sciences portfolio in Cary. Michigan-based Alidade Capital acquired the assets from JPB Raleigh Holdings. The Park City, Utah-based company acquired the properties in 2015 and 2016 and made capital improvements during its ownership. The buildings were 96 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including healthcare company McKesson Corp., World Courier Management Inc. and biorepository company Kryosphere. Jimmy Barnes of Tri Properties | NAI Carolantic represented the seller in the transaction.
PORTLAND, MAINE — Portland Foreside Development Co. has broken ground on an office project for financial services provider Sun Life in the city’s downtown area. The waterfront building will house as many as 700 employees of Sun Life and its subsidiary FullscopeRMS, which expect to have a total footprint of about 77,000 square feet. The property will also feature retail and restaurant space, as well as public plazas. Completion is slated for 2022.
HERNDON, VA., AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — JLL Capital Markets has brokered the sale of two office properties owned by WashREIT (NYSE: WRE) in metro Washington, D.C., for a combined $106.5 million. The company sold Monument II, a 200,000-square foot, Class A office building in Herndon, to an affiliate of Westbrook Partners; and 1227 25th St. NW, a 136,540-square-foot office asset in Washington, D.C., to an undisclosed buyer. Completed in 2000, Monument II is an eight-story office building with a five-level parking facility. The property is located at 12950 Worldgate Drive along the Dulles Toll Road near Worldgate Centre and the future Herndon Metrorail station. Few details were released regarding 1227 25th St. NW, which is located within D.C.’s central business district. “These sales further strengthen our balance sheet ahead of the post-vaccine recovery and align with our strategy to reduce our exposure to office assets, allowing us to de-risk our portfolio and improve our ability to create long-term shareholder value,” says Paul McDermott, president and CEO of WashREIT. Stephen Conley, Matt Nicholson, Jim Meisel, Andrew Weir and Dave Baker of JLL represented the seller in both transactions. Dan McIntyre and Paul Spellman, also of JLL, assisted the buyer of Monument …