South End Office Building Set For Multifamily Conversion Sold For $24M

An office building poised for a residential conversion has sold once again.

The six-story South End office building at 95 Berkeley St. sold to Continuum Development Co., Fortuna Realty Group and Glacier Global Partners on Thursday, according to deed records. The firm acquired the building from Los Angeles-based CIM Group, the Boston Business Journal reported.

CIM Group filed plans to turn the office building into 92 apartment units in April, with 18 of the units designated affordable. The units will take up 80K SF, with the rest of the 98K SF building dedicated to ground-floor retail.

The firm filed the plans for the conversion through the city's office-to-residential conversion incentives program, which at the time had been extended with an additional $15M in state funding.

CIM acquired the Class-B property in 2016 for $43M from The Community Builders.

However, in 2024, CIM listed the building for sale, with CBRE marketing the property. The building was 12% leased at the time.

Last month, the city celebrated the start of four residential conversion projects comprising 141 units across the city. Though the city hasn't seen many proposals, Mayor Michelle Wu has hinted at expanding the program, saying at the celebration, "If there's more interest, developers should reach out and let us know."

Residents of the first office-to-residential conversion project at 281 Franklin St. moved into the building on Tuesday, according to WCVB. The building was converted by Burns Realty & Investments, the first developer to start construction and receive financing under the program.

The city's conversion tax incentive program has received 17 applications to convert 655K SF of office space into 824 apartments so far.

CORRECTION, SEPT. 30, 11:30 A.M. ET: A previous version of this story included an incorrect buyer. The story has been updated.