Berkeley Investments, German Firm Form Joint Venture: The Boston Deal Sheet

As other investors are becoming weary of Boston, a German firm is seeing opportunities.

German real estate company Garbe formed a strategic joint venture with Berkeley Investments, the Boston company announced Monday. The new venture will be called Berkeley Garbe LLC and will target multifamily, industrial and infrastructure investments. The pair didn't reveal how much they intend to invest.

The JV will focus on the New England region initially but plans to expand across the Northeast. It will be led by Berkeley founder Young Park.

The partnership is Garbe’s entry into the U.S. The firm has 21 offices in 14 countries, including Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The Hamburg-based company manages a portfolio of more than 85M SF across three business lines: Garbe Industrial, Garbe Reside and Garbe Infrastructure. The firm has more than $17B in assets under management.

Berkeley has acquired, developed and sold more than 18M SF across Greater Boston, including 200 Exchange in Malden, The Charley in Allston and the Waltham Watch Factory in Waltham.

SALES

An entity linked to James T. Construction Co. acquired the roughly 71K SF North Reading Landing redevelopment site in North Reading for $7.3M. Grocery chain owner Ahold Delhaize USA was the seller. The property is partially occupied by Ocean State Job Lot on a short-term lease. The main structure was previously occupied by Stop & Shop. Atlantic Capital Partners’ Justin Smith, Sam Koonce, Chris Peterson, Steve Tomasello and Leslie Cotter represented the seller and secured the buyer.

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Jamestown acquired an 11-story office building at 18 Tremont St. for $29.5M, according to deed records. The building sold at a 71% discount, with seller Mai Luo having bought it for $103M in 2019. The sale closed on June 9. The property is also home to 20K SF of ground-floor retail.

LEASES

International food service firm Affinity Group Food Services signed a nearly 13K SF lease at Cummings Properties’ Bedford Woods office buildings in Bedford. Cummings’ Rob Yacobian and Affinity’s Enzo Dentico and Jack Mooney worked on the transaction. The 330K SF, two-building property is at 174 and 176 Middlesex Turnpike. 

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International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP officially opened its 37K SF office at Samuels & Associates’ Lyrik Back Bay. The firm is relocating from a 28K SF office at 1001 Boylston St. The firm has also secured additional space in the building as it plans a phased growth strategy over the next year.

FINANCING

Tremont Asset Management landed a $44.5M construction loan for a 145-unit multifamily development at 259 Lenox St. in Norwood. The project is a five-story residential community with 20% of the units set aside as income-restricted. Beacon Bank originated the loan. The project also has 169 parking spaces, an outdoor pool, a fitness center and coworking spaces. Colliers’ Patrick Boyle, Matt Lombardi Jr. and Rose Liu represented the borrower.

PERSONNEL

The Community Builders appointed Morgan Wilson as chief of systems and strategy and Alexa Ducote as chief financial officer. Wilson’s role is new and will require him to oversee information technology and business information systems teams. Ductore will oversee strategy and operations for financial management and accounting.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Allston Brighton Commercial Development Corp., Schochet and several city and state officials celebrated the redevelopment of the Warren Hall building in Brighton. The project will convert the property at 329-337 Washington St. into 35 units, two Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant apartments and commercial space.

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The Healey-Driscoll administration released an offering memorandum for the redevelopment of a two-building, state-owned campus in Government Center. The two buildings are the Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center and the Charles F. Hurley building. The state plans to release a call for offers this summer to find a developer that will prioritize historic preservation, adaptive reuse and housing production on the site.