Piedmont Sells Boxborough Complex For $30M: The Boston Deal Sheet
Piedmont Realty Trust has offloaded a two-building, flex-office complex in the Boston suburbs.
The Atlanta-based REIT sold the Tech Central business park at 80-90 Central St. in Boxborough for $29.5M, it announced in its quarterly earnings report. Piedmont stated it recognized a $1.2M gain from the sale.
It didn't name the buyer, but property records show it was Rhino Capital, and that firm's website has a page for the property.
The campus consists of 321K SF of flex-office and research and development space across two buildings on a 79-acre site. The 80 Central St. building was developed in 1988 and renovated in 1999, and 90 Central St. was built in 2001.
The buildings are 91% leased to tenants like AMD and Qualcomm, according to Rhino's website. In April 2023, product development firm Product Insights inked a 21K SF lease at 80 Central St.
Piedmont also sold a 97K SF office building at One Brattle Square in Cambridge’s Harvard Square to Beacon Capital Partners in December 2022 for $81M. The REIT still owns three office assets in Burlington.
SALES
An entity linked to Winchester-based Newport Realty Properties acquired a 34-unit apartment building in Holbrook for $7M. The value-add property’s seller was the Myrna Barbara Fay Scharf trustee. Marcus & Millichap’s Tony Pepdjonovic and Evan Griffith represented the seller and procured the buyer. The property at 3 Johns Ave. consists of four studio and 30 one-bedroom units.
LEASES
Dasco Home Medical Equipment signed a 3K SF lease at Cummings Properties’ 50 Concord St. office in Wilmington. Lincoln Property Co.’s James Tambone and Will Greer worked with Cummings on the deal. It is the first location in Massachusetts for the family-owned medical technology company, which operates more than 30 locations in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas and Florida.
FINANCING
The Abbey Group received $132M in refinancing for its 342-unit apartment community in Fenway from PGIM Real Estate. The Viridian apartments, which consist of a 20-story tower and a 15-story section, also include ground-floor retail, including CorePower Yoga and Blaze Pizza. The apartment building opened in 2015 at 1282 Boylston St. JLL Capital Markets Group arranged the financing.
***
Brandeis University received a $134M tax-exempt bond from MassDevelopment to build a 631-unit residential hall. The university will use the bond to expand its Waltham campus with the residential project and other capital projects. Construction on the student housing project began in June and is expected to complete in the spring of 2027. The bond was sold through a public offering underwritten by Barclays Capital Inc.
PERSONNEL
Fulcrum Real Estate Partners co-founder Richard Putprush announced his retirement after over 40 years in the business. He co-founded Fulcrum in 2014 with Rob Kirschner, targeting under-appreciated assets across New England. Putprush will still act as a consultant for the firm and its clients. He had prior executive roles as president at REP Realty Advisors, managing director at NAI Parson’s Commercial Group and senior director at Cushman & Wakefield, according to his LinkedIn page.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
BXP broke ground on its 17 Hartwell Ave. multifamily development in Lexington. The 312-unit residential project was proposed in August 2024 and approved in December. The REIT also announced that Northwestern Mutual invested in a majority stake in the project, while BXP will retain a minority stake and act as development manager. BXP acquired the 5-acre parcel for $22M in June, and Northwestern Mutual secured a $98.7M construction loan.
***
Erland Construction completed a 479K SF apartment community for Chestnut Hill Realty in Brookline. The 250-unit apartment building consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom units and has a 290-car parking lot. The apartment community spans 15 buildings on 80 acres. Amenities include a community center, multipurpose rooms, a fitness center, café and a game room.
***
Healthpeak Properties filed plans for its $4.5B Cambridge Point project, calling for 4.6M SF of mixed-use development, including more than 2,000 housing units, public gathering space and 1.3M SF of lab and office space. The project would also include 14 acres designated for public open space, including parks, plazas and other public recreational activities.
