JAMESTOWN IN THE BACK BAY

BANG … the holiday shopping season is off to a running start asJamestown Properties pays $226.5M for several Back Bay retail properties.

In one of the largest property sales of the year, Jamestown Properties just closed on its acquisition of 28 Back Bay properties, five from Federal Realty and 23 from Taurus Investments andUrbanMeritage on Newbury Street. Chief Investment Officer Matt Bronfman tells us he believes in the Back Bay with its street-level retail, which he thinks will be the strongest segment of the market going forward. Newbury Street, very good now, will get even better as more upscale retailers move in. The private equity firm, which raises capital mostly in Germany, learned to love Boston years ago when it invested in two office towers: One Federal Street and 125 High Street. The Atlanta based-firm also owns copious amounts of retail in NYC (Chelsea Market) and in Washington, DC.