A local developer has acquired a downtown office complex approved for an office-to-residential conversion.
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GJM 85 Devonshire St LLC, linked to Charlestown developer Gregory McCarthy, acquired 85 Devonshire St. from KS Partners for $8.5M, according to an Aug. 28 deed record. The buyer also secured an acquisition loan from RD Advisors, RD Managing Partner Sean Kelly-Rand announced on LinkedIn.
The 91K SF complex includes 83-85 Devonshire St., 258-262 Washington St. and 4 Water St.
KS Partners won approval in April 2024 to convert the three adjoining buildings into 95 residential units and 3K SF of residential amenity space. It is one of many Boston office buildings that have been planned for conversion but have yet to start construction.
In May, the property was scheduled to go to auction. The property was marketed by CBRE and Apex Commercial Exchange. Apex's website says the auction ended on June 17, but it doesn't name McCarthy as the winning bidder.
McCarthy didn't respond to Bisnow's request for comment.
The developer has won approval for two office-to-residential conversion projects at 615 Albany St. and 129 Portland St., totaling 49 residential units. Both projects are under construction.
FINANCING
Faros Properties secured a $33.4M refinancing loan for 14 Beacon St., a 128-year-old office building steps from the State House. Needham Bank provided the loan, and Boston Realty Advisors' Jonathan Schneider provided debt advisory services, he announced on LinkedIn. The office property is 100% leased to tenants including the Boston Athenæum and the Congregational Library & Archives.
Faros has owned the property since 2017 and renovated it in 2022. Multiple tenants signed on after the renovation, including public relations firm Rasky Partners with a 5K SF lease, Schneider told Bisnow.
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Synergy locked down a $92M refinancing deal for its 101 Arch St. office building in downtown Boston. The loan comes after the firm invested more than $20M in capital improvements and signed more than 220K SF in leases, Synergy announced. The renovations include a new entrance, lobby, conference center and full-service fitness center.
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Millennium Partners secured an $856M financing package for its Winthrop Center mixed-use tower in the Financial District. The package included a $575M securitized loan for the office portion of the tower. JLL's Riaz Cassum, Andrew Gray, Robyn King and David Mega represented the borrower.
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The Healey-Driscoll administration provided $15.3M in financing awards for five office-to-residential conversion projects in Boston, Dedham, Springfield, Westford and Worcester. The financing was provided through the state's Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative. The largest award was $4M, which went to Synergy's 255-unit conversion at 294 Washington St. in Boston. Three projects received $3M each, and another project received $2.3M.
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Wheelock Street Capital and Camber Development secured a $62M bridge loan for its advanced manufacturing facility at 44 Middlesex Turnpike in Bedford. The loan was secured through Blue Light Capital. The 148K SF property is 32% leased to energy sustainability company Fourth Power. A JLL Capital Markets team arranged the financing.
SALES
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Investment platform Go Outdoors acquired the 273-slip Constitution Marina on Boston's waterfront for an undisclosed price. The seller was Bosport Docking, which had owned the property for over 60 years.
Colliers' Andrew Cantor, Matt Putnam and Dan Grovatt represented the seller. Marinas have become an increasingly attractive target for institutional investors across the country.
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Torrington Properties acquired the 96-room Residence Inn on Route 1 in Danvers for $13.5M. The developer plans to convert the property into 88 housing units. The seller was PEG Cos., which was represented by JLL Capital Markets. JLL also helped Torrington secure financing.
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BXP acquired two office buildings at 860 and 870 Winter St. in Waltham for a combined $30M, according to deed records. The seller was an entity linked to The Massachusetts Medical Society. The sales come after BXP won approval to convert vacant office buildings along Winter Street and its Bay Colony Waltham campus into housing.
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Equity Resource Investments and partners North River Co. and Remap have acquired an 8.6-acre industrial outdoor storage campus at 320 Charger St. in Revere for $12M, according to deed records. The campus has been fully leased to Avis Budget Group since 2022. Bar Harbor Bank & Trust provided $22M in acquisition financing for the property. Cushman & Wakefield's John Alascio, Alex Hernandez, Rob Borden and Chris Meloni served as the debt advisers to the buyers.
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Alterra IOS acquired two industrial outdoor storage facilities: 158 Butterfield Drive in Ashland for $4M and 146 Leland St. in Framingham for $12M. The seller in the Framingham deal was Leland Tide Realty LLC, and the seller in the Ashfield deal was UPS, which used the property as the company's warehouse.
LEASES
Reframe Systems, which uses robotics to manufacture housing, has leased 115K SF at 90 Salem Road in Billercia, Banker & Tradesman reported. The property is owned by an entity linked to Equity Industrial Partners. The lease will serve as the company's headquarters. The company will join FedEx and Siegel Ingredients at the property.
PERSONNEL
Skanska promoted Anubhav Bhargava to executive vice president and general manager of the company's New England operating unit. In the new role, Bhargava will oversee New England operations as it relates to strategy, performance and growth. Bhargava has spent nearly 30 years in the construction industry, with more than half of that time spent at Skanska. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and account manager.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
An entity linked to DND Homes has proposed a 151-unit residential development at 169-177 Cambridge St. in Allston. The site is home to four "non-descript and outdated multifamily structures" totaling roughly 18K SF, according to the company's filing. The project would include a six-story building totaling 83K SF and 28 off-street parking spaces.
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Beacon Communities filed plans to build 47 affordable apartments at 79 Essex St. in Chinatown. The project would rehabilitate the existing vacant building. All of the units would be income-restricted. The project would also preserve the 1,400 SF of ground-floor retail and create other related residential amenities, including bike storage.
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