A Connecticut-based real estate investor has acquired a Boston-area property that represents its first deal in a new strategy focusing on the manufacturing and research and development sectors.
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Hendrie Lane Capital, in partnership with V12 Investments and The Zaro Group, paid $43.5M for a two-building, 16-acre property in Andover from Ciminelli Real Estate Corp., Hendrie Lane told Bisnow.
The buildings span 171K SF of R&D and advanced manufacturing space at 3 and 6 Riverside Drive, about 25 miles north of Boston. Hendrie said they are fully leased to NEOLab, Physical Sciences, SciAps and music equipment company Fishman.
Hendrie has invested in office, retail and multifamily properties for more than 25 years. It has just launched a new strategy to invest in R&D and advanced manufacturing properties because its executives see the sector “at the start of a sustained growth period” that will attract more institutional money. It is looking for deals in the Boston, New York, D.C., San Francisco and North Carolina Research Triangle regions.
“Riverside Drive is exactly the kind of asset we built this strategy around: well-located, high-quality, well-maintained buildings, acquired at a significant discount to replacement cost and to historical market pricing, and leased long-term to time-tested tenants who have invested heavily in their space,” Hendrie Lane principal Tony Calabrese said in a statement.
JLL’s Scott Carpenter brokered the deal on behalf of the seller. JLL’s Andrew Gray, Hugh Doherty and Emily Fuller arranged the buyer’s acquisition financing, a $28.6M loan from Washington Trust Bank.
LEASES
Google signed a 35K SF lease at 200 Talcott Ave. in Watertown, the Boston Business Journal reports. The building, owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, is part of the Arsenal on the Charles development. The deal is an expansion in the region for Google, which occupies more than 1M SF in Cambridge.
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Chiofaro Cos. has landed several new tenants totaling more than 300K SF at International Place, BBJ reports. The tenants are PNC Bank, Arnovia, Alera Group, Société Générale, FNZ and Crowell & Moring. The deals come after Chiofaro completed a $100M renovation of the 46-story downtown office tower and previously signed a 132K SF deal with KKR.
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Local coworking provider Workbar is expanding its Back Bay location at 399 Boylston St., it announced Tuesday. The company reached a deal with landlord DivcoWest to take the entire sixth floor, growing its footprint from 12K SF to 20K SF. DivcoWest acquired the 245K SF building in November for $125M from Blackstone, which had completed $35M in upgrades.
PERSONNEL
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Mayor Michelle Wu last week appointed Emily Knight to serve as the city’s economic development chief. Knight was previously CEO of Cambridge-based nonprofit startup incubator The Engine. She is scheduled to start the new role Oct. 19, nine months after former economic development head Segun Idowu said he was stepping down. Donald Wright has served in the role on an interim basis since then.
“Boston has extraordinary talent, institutions, and ideas, and this role is an incredible opportunity to connect those strengths into economic growth that lasts,” Knight said in a statement.
SALES
RJ Kelly sold the Quarry Square retail center in Milford for $10M. The 56K SF property on an 8.6-acre site is 100% leased to 17 tenants. Atlantic Capital Partners represented the seller in the deal. The buyer was Oxford, Massachusetts-based KBG Realty Properties.
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Realterm bought two industrial outdoor storage properties in Ayer and Devens for an undisclosed price, it announced Tuesday. The 3.5-acre Ayer site at 15 Westford Road includes an 8,200 SF maintenance facility, and the 6.75-acre Devens site at 27 Cook St. has a 12K SF facility. The private equity investor said it was drawn to the properties because of the strength of the area’s distribution market and the limited IOS supply.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
The Cambridge Planning Board approved the special permits needed for Healthpeak Properties to begin its 5M SF Alewife development. The developer plans to build the project in phases over the next three decades, with the full project envisioned as 24 buildings with more than 2,300 housing units, 2.6M SF of office and lab space, and 75K SF of retail. Hines is partnering on the residential portion.
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Alexandria Real Estate Equities proposed the redevelopment of the former Moderna headquarters at Cambridge’s Technology Square complex, BBJ reports. It is seeking an additional 250K SF of commercial development rights at the complex, and in exchange, it would convert the office building at 161 First St. into 31 units of affordable housing. It plans to partner with Beacon Communities on the affordable component.
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A new 72-acre development opportunity has arisen in the central Massachusetts town of Lancaster. The Healey-Driscoll administration released a request for proposals seeking a developer to transform the former home of the Lancaster Industrial School for Girls into a walkable neighborhood with between 288 and 386 homes.
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