NEEDHAM, MASS. — Mortgage banking firm HFF has arranged an $85 million construction loan for TripAdvisor Inc.'s corporate headquarters in Needham, a southwest suburb of Boston.
HFF secured the floating-rate loan on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture that includes investment manager Normandy Real Estate Partners and private investment capital firm Greenfield Partners.
“Normandy and Greenfield had the vision and persistence to transform an underutilized group of 1950s-era R&D buildings into an amenity-rich corporate office location,” says Riaz Cassum, senior managing director at HFF. Cassum, along with Porter Terry and Brett Paulsrud of HFF, represented the borrower in the transaction.
The money will fund the construction of a six-story, 280,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for TripAdvisor. It will be a LEED-certified building, and will include an employee cafeteria, a fitness center and a 1,100-space parking garage.
The new corporate headquarters for the travel website operator will be completed in 2015. The property is about eight miles west of downtown Boston and is situated on 4.7 acres.
Morristown, N.J.-based Normandy and South Norwalk, Conn.-based Greenfield announced in June 2013 their plans to secure a corporate headquarters for TripAdvisor.
“Today's leading technology companies are seeking high-performance workplaces designed to support their culture, their brand and their most valuable asset — their employees,” said Mark Roopenian, senior vice president of Normandy, in the June 2013 statement. “There is a dearth of quality product in the Boston submarket that is sufficient to meet [TripAdvisor's] advanced workplace preferences.”
RBS Citizens Financial Group and People’s United Bank led the lender group. William Butler and Davis Lewis, senior vice presidents, led the RBS Citizens and People’s United teams, respectively.
Normandy Real Estate Partners currently manages a series of discretionary real estate funds totaling approximately $1.5 billion of equity commitments. Normandy’s existing portfolio includes more than 15 million square feet of commercial assets, four hotels and numerous land development sites.
Greenfield Partners is a private real estate company that currently employs more than 40 employees specializing in acquisitions, development, asset management, finance, law, construction, investor relations and architecture.