This Week's Boston Deal Sheet: Research Firm Slashes Footprint With Renewal In Cambridge
A market research company has renewed its Cambridge office lease for more than 13 years but has cut its footprint due to hybrid work.
Forrester Research is shrinking its office space from roughly 192K SF to 118K SF at 60 Acorn Park Drive in Cambridge, Banker & Tradesman reported, citing an SEC filing.
The firm relocated to the building from 400 Technology Square in Kendall Square in 2011. It previously occupied space on the first through sixth floors, but it has now reduced its footprint to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors.
"Our new lease is right sized to align with our hybrid work model," Shweta Agarwal, Forrester’s vice president of corporate communications, told CoStar, which first reported the lease extension.
The 60 Acorn Park building is part of The Bulfinch Cos. and Healthpeak Properties' Cambridge Discovery Park. Healthpeak joined the ownership of the four-building, 607K SF campus in 2020.
SALES
Synergy acquired the 32-story office tower at 99 High St. for $227M from Nuveen. The sale represents a 17% discount from the $273M Nuveen bought it for in 2005. The 730K SF property is 78% leased to tenants including Mercer, Marsh McLennan, AIG and Karuna Therapeutics. The company is assuming the mortgage on the property from MetLife.
LEASES
The Davis Cos. secured a 56K SF medical office lease with Cambridge Health Alliance at its One Cabot Road building in Medford. The company will occupy the second floor, including medical office space and ancillary support services. The office is expected to open in June 2025.
FINANCING
MassHousing closed on $37.3M in financing for a 105-unit affordable housing project in Chicopee. The financing was awarded to the joint venture of Sydney Capital Group LLC and Bisa Builders Development LLC. The financing consists of a $6.8M permanent loan, $22.4M in bridge financing, $7M in workforce housing financing and $1M in Capital Magnet Fund financing.
The project, known as the Singing Bridge Residences, is planned on a vacant parcel along the Chicopee River. The parcel will also be developed to add a sports complex, a brewery and an office building in a separate project.
PERSONNEL
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities have selected Ethan Handelman as CEDAC's new executive director.
Handelman will lead the organization as it provides financing and technical expertise for nonprofit and community-based organizations working on community development across the state. Handelman will replace Roger Herzog, who is retiring this spring. The selection will be effective June 1.
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Newmark hired James Renner as the company's valuation and advisory market leader for New England. Before joining Newmark, Renner acted as vice president and led commercial valuations at Wells Fargo Bank. Renner will work out of Newmark's Boston office.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Martha's Vineyard Hospital is spending $38M on the development of a 48-unit apartment building to house hospital employees. It made a deal with the Norton family to buy 28 acres for the project for $3.6M. The building is expected to open in June.
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Gilbane Building Co. celebrated the groundbreaking of Salem State University's modernization project that includes renovations to the Horace Mann building, which has been vacant since 2018, and the expansion of Meier Hall to create new lab space. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027.
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Hines has come on as a long-term partner with Healthpeak Properties to develop the multifamily components of the Cambridge Point master-planned district. The project could reach up to 5M SF of development, including multifamily, lab and retail space. It would also include a network of green spaces that connect to local parks, including Fresh Pond and Alewife Brook Reservation. The development team says it expects to obtain entitlements for the project in 2026 and begin the first residential building within 12 months after that.
