BOSTON — Newmark has arranged the $1.5 billion recapitalization of 401 Park Drive and 201 Brookline Ave. in Boston’s Fenway submarket. The 1.5 million-square-foot campus sits on nearly nine acres.
Concurrent with the financing transaction, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. acquired a majority stake in the campus. The seller is a joint venture between institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives and Samuels & Associates. Boston-based Samuels will retain a minority interest in the campus and continue to operate, lease and lead development activities for the property in conjunction with the new majority owner.
The asset at 401 Park Drive is an existing 973,145-square-foot office and retail tower. It is currently 93 percent occupied. The second property, 201 Brookline Ave., is a 510,116-square-foot laboratory and office tower that is currently under construction. It is 17 percent pre-leased with tenants expected to take occupancy in 2022. There is also potential for an additional phase of commercial development at the site.
Located next to an MBTA Green Line station, the campus incorporates a recently created 1.1-acre park that provides direct access to new retailers Time Out Market and Trillium Brewing Co. The park also features an ice-skating rink in the winter.
“This transaction is indicative of the momentous wave of life sciences activity that has taken place in greater Boston throughout the past year,” says Edward Maher, vice chairman with Newmark. “We expect life sciences to continue to be a bright spot for the market in 2021.”
Maher, along with Robert Griffin, Matthew Pullen, Frank Nelson, Michael Greeley and Samantha Hallowell of Newmark’s capital markets group represented the seller and borrower in the transactions.
Samuels & Associates is a development, leasing and property management company. Alexandria is an office REIT focused on life sciences, technology and agricultural technology campuses with a total market capitalization of $31.9 billion as of Dec. 31, 2020.
— Kristin Hiller