Cambridge, MA Boston Residential Group sold 1280 Massachusetts Ave., a fully leased five-story, 43,120 s/f office and retail building in Harvard Sq., to Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. According to public record the asset sold for $45.15 million.
Boston Residential Group and its affiliates developed the mixed-use building in 1985 and have managed it since that time. Current office tenants include Harvard University, Equity Resources Investments, and Mark of the Unicorn, a music software company. Retail tenants are Tatte Bakery and Café, Qdoba Mexican Eats, and SEE Inc.
CBRE/NE capital market experts Dave Pergola and Brian Doherty represented the seller and procured the buyer. Pergola and Doherty have been involved with in excess of $200 million worth of transactions in the Harvard Sq. area, as the pair also handled the sales of 1050 Mass. Ave., 1100 Mass. Ave. and 625 Mass. Ave.
Peter Palandjian, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental, said, “Intercontinental is thrilled to have another portfolio asset in Harvard Sq. Cambridge, Mass. is a city we’ve invested in for decades. It is arguably the center of the universe for life sciences and the home obviously of Harvard and MIT universities. Now more than ever, it has become an incredibly vibrant and energetic market. We were pleased to work with the seller, Boston Residential Group, who were wonderful to work with and who have conveyed to us this highest quality real estate asset.”
Curtis Kemeny, CEO, president and principal of Boston Residential said, “Boston Residential Group is proud to have been the steward of a Harvard Sq. asset that has significantly grown in value with great tenants, and we are happy to place it in the hands of a premier local owner and operator of class A real estate assets. This is great news for the tenants of 1280 Mass Ave. and for Cambridge and Harvard Sq., which is increasingly a premier location for businesses and stores.”
The brick and steel building was designed by Symmes Maini & Mckee Associates (now SMMA) and measures 50 feet in height with a brick and stone façade. It has 9,000 s/f floor plates, 33,828 s/f of office space, and 8,540 s/f of retail area. Located at the edge of Harvard Yard at Harvard University, it has 32 parking spaces below grade.
Cambridge office vacancy is low, under 4% and rents have increased significantly in the current market.
The 1280 Mass Ave. property is near the MBTA’s Red Line Harvard Sq. Station, which along with nearby Central Sq. accommodates nearly 40,000 commuters daily.
Boston Residential Group is a residential developer that has been redefining the art of urban living in the Boston area for 15 years. Boston Residential Group is led by Curtis Kemeny, and has successful projects in neighborhoods from the Back Bay to South Boston to the Charlestown Navy Yard. They include Church Park Apartments in Back Bay, Olmsted Place in Jamaica Plain, 360 Newbury in the Back Bay, 285 Columbus Lofts in the South End and 319A St. in Fort Point Channel.
Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation is an SEC registered investment adviser with decades long experience in real estate investment, finance, development, construction management and asset management. Since 1959, Intercontinental and its affiliates have managed, developed, or owned collectively over $10 billion in real estate property. Today, Intercontinental manages a real estate portfolio of approximately $6 billion for its clients. The Intercontinental portfolio is diversified both by robust property mix and by geography. Fund strategies actively seek opportunities to invest in both core and core-plus properties, as well as in value-add operating properties and development projects.
