AI Biotech Startup Signs 235K SF Alewife Lease: The Boston Deal Sheet
In the midst of a beleaguered life sciences real estate marketplace, an artificial intelligence biotech startup has leased a sizable portion of lab space in Cambridge.
AI startup Lila Sciences leased 235K SF at 1 and 5 Alewife Park in Cambridge from IQHQ, the Boston Business Journal first reported.
The life sciences real estate company acquired the 27-acre campus near Alewife MBTA station in 2020 for $125M, with plans to develop a 762K SF campus including five lab and office buildings.
West Cambridge saw 148K SF of positive absorption of life sciences space in the third quarter, more than any other submarket in the city, according to CBRE. However, the deal comes as the Greater Boston life sciences market continues to languish. Millions of square feet of lab space is empty across the region.
SALES
Sendero Capital acquired a 76K SF medical office building at 200 Unicorn Park for $31.5M, according to deed records. The building is fully leased to tenants including Winchester Hospital and Excel Orthopedic Specialists. A CBRE team represented the seller, Unicorn Property Corp.
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Private equity firm Blackstone paid Hilco $58.5M for an 87K SF industrial property at 150 Salem Turnpike in Saugus, Commercial Property Executive reported. The property was built to suit for UPS, which still occupies the space. Blackstone also secured a $42M acquisition loan for the purchase from American International Group.
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Torrington Properties sold a 59-unit apartment building in Arlington to housing nonprofit Housing Corporation of Arlington for $20.5M, Banker & Tradesman reported. The property is at 840-846 Massachusetts Ave. The financing package for the sale included a grant from the state's MBTA Communities Catalyst Fund.
LEASES
Uniqlo signed a 25K SF lease at 399 Washington St. near Downtown Crossing, The Boston Globe reported. Hudson Group and Assembly Investments own the 75K SF office building. Hudson and Assembly still need to fill the other 50K SF in the building, which they acquired in March for $13M.
FINANCING
Walker & Dunlop arranged $356M in financing on behalf of Harbor Group International for a 1,817-unit portfolio in Marlborough, Bridgewater, Worcester and Warwick, Rhode Island. The portfolio spans 1.8M SF and was built between 1970 and 1974.
The Massachusetts properties are Royal Crest Marlboro in Marlborough, Waterford Village in Bridgewater, and Wexford Village in Worcester. The sale also includes Royal Crest Warwick in Warwick, Rhode Island.
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Drucker Associates launched $5M in capital improvements for its 211 Congress St. office building in Boston. The improvement plan comes after the 90K SF office building secured a total of 45K SF of new leases and renewals this year, including 8K SF of leases in the last quarter.
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MassDevelopment provided an $11M loan to Bratt LLC to build a 45-unit, mixed-income rental housing project at 199 Barnstable Road in Hyannis. Plans for the project include 40 market-rate units and five units set aside for families earning up to 65% of the area median income. Construction is underway and is expected to complete in the second quarter. BankFive Partner was also a part of the deal.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Jumbo Capital filed plans for a senior housing development at 888 Worcester St. in Wellesley, the BBJ reported. The company plans to acquire the property from Haynes Management. The proposal would include demolishing the two existing buildings on the site to make room for the new residential units. Jumbo plans to build a mix of independent and assisted-living options. No information was provided on the unit count.
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The owners of Kowloon, the iconic Polynesian and Chinese food restaurant on Route 1, have proposed a two-building, 198-unit development on the property. Construction would require tearing down the well-known restaurant. The proposal includes space for a smaller, permanent restaurant and ground-floor retail.
