BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS — An affiliate of Phoenix-based Cole Real Estate Investments has purchased 174 and 176 Middlesex Turnpike, a 328,232-square-foot trophy office complex located in Bedford, for $93.5 million. The buildings are fully leased to RSA Security, a division of EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), a global network security provider. Bedford is located in Middlesex County, 15 miles to the northwest of Boston.
Robert Griffin and Edward Maher of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group and Luis Alvarado of the firm’s Corporate Occupier & Investor Services Group represented the seller, Real Estate Capital Partners USA Capital Trust, in the transaction, and procured the buyer. Robert Corry of Cushman & Wakefield’s Office & Industrial Acquisitions group represented the buyer.
The office complex is used as a research and development facility and is located on 54.5 acres. The complex features the two office buildings connected by a glass-enclosed sky bridge. The Gutierrez Company developed the office complex in December 2001. The complex was built with the bridge to allow RSA Security employees to move quickly between areas in order to collaborate with fellow engineers and designers.
REITs, such as Cole Real Estate Investments, have been targeting areas outside of the core Boston market for Class A office properties such as 174 and 176 Middlesex Turnpike for stronger revenue upside, according to Marcus & Millichap. Class A office properties in Middlesex County are trading at cap rates in the high 6 to low 8 percent range.
EMC’s stock price closed Tuesday at $26.21 per share, up slightly from $26.10 a year ago.
— John Nelson