New Boston Fund Sells 265,000-Square-Foot, Class A Boston Office Tower
BOSTON--New Boston Fund, a Boston-based real estate investment, development and management firm, announced it has sold 116 Huntington Ave., a 14-story office building in Boston's Back Bay, to Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Beacon Capital is getting a premier Class A asset in one of the country's leading office markets," said New Boston Fund President Jerry Rappaport Jr. "During the two years we owned the property, we have added value by stabilizing the tenant roster and extending a number of leases. Our decision to sell the asset was based upon the strong investment environment for well-located, stabilized, high-quality real estate."
At the time of sale, the 265,000-square-foot property was 97 percent occupied by 13 tenants, including IDX, American Tower Corp., Partners Healthcare, Sonesta International Hotels, and the Blackfin Chop House and Raw Bar. The tower was built in 1991, and was designed by Boston-based architects CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares. The sale to Beacon Capital Partners was brokered by Jim McCaffrey and Peter Joseph of the Trammell Crow Company.
The building is in one of Boston's most vibrant neighborhoods, and is directly adjacent to Copley Place, the Shops at the Prudential Center and the Christian Science headquarters.
"This section of the city has undergone a transformation with the beautification of Huntington Avenue and the development of new office, retail and residential properties in the immediate area," Rappaport said. "We anticipate Beacon Capital will do very well there."
The tower was purchased in December 2002 through a partnership that included New Boston Real Estate Investment Fund LP V and New Boston Real Estate Investment Fund LP VI. Fund VI, the firm's most recent fund, closed in June 2004 after raising approximately $400 million of investor capital. New Boston Fund continues to actively acquire and develop assets on behalf of Fund VI in target markets along the East Coast and through the Midwest, and will ultimately invest approximately $1.2 billion on behalf of the Fund. The company expects to invest more than $300 million in the Boston market through Fund VI. The Huntington Avenue building was the first asset acquired on behalf of Fund VI.
New Boston Fund currently owns another high-profile project in its home city: One Brigham Circle in the Longwood Medical Area. The property, developed in partnership with NDC Development Associates Inc. and Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services, is a mixed-use office building and grocery-anchored retail center totaling 190,000 square feet, and includes more than five acres of parkland for the Mission Hill neighborhood. The property was completed in 2003, and recently celebrated its first year of operation. Current tenants include Partners Healthcare, Stop & Shop and Walgreens.
