BOSTON — A joint venture led by locally based REIT Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ: DHC) has received $1 billion for the refinancing of the Vertex Pharmaceuticals headquarters facility in Boston.
A consortium of lenders — Morgan Stanley Bank, Bank of Montreal, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan — provided the financing, which was structured with a five-year term and a fixed interest rate. Local investment firm RMR Group, which provides asset and property management services for the joint venture, arranged the debt.
The majority of the proceeds will be used to retire $620 million in fixed-rate debt on the property, as well as to fund leasing reserves and repatriate cash to investors.
Located at 50 Northern Ave. and 11 Fan Pier Blvd. in Boston’s Seaport District, the two-building facility spans approximately 1.1 million square feet. Both buildings were constructed in 2013. Vertex, which produces medicines and therapies for genetic disorders including cystic fibrosis, renewed its lease in August 2024 and will remain the property’s sole occupant through 2044.
The joint venture ownership group includes multiple institutional investment groups that were not named in the announcement. Diversified Healthcare’s stake in the property is 10 percent; the company previously sold a 10 percent interest in the property in 2022 for $108 million.
“RMR is pleased to have facilitated this refinancing for our private capital clients following a long-term lease extension by the anchor tenant,” says Adam Portnoy, president and CEO of RMR Group. “This financing allows us to recapitalize the joint venture’s debt at a leverage level appropriate for a well leased, high-quality asset, while capitalizing outstanding tenant inducements associated with the lease extension and securing a competitive fixed interest rate.”
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has also preleased a 345,000-square-foot life sciences building in the Seaport District that is being developed by Related Beal. Completion of that project is slated for next year.
Diversified Healthcare Trust owns 343 senior living, medical office and life sciences properties in 34 states and Washington, D.C., as of March 31, 2025. The REIT’s stock price closed on Wednesday, Aug. 13 at $3.64 per share, up from $3.10 a year ago.
— Taylor Williams