Richards Barry Joyce & Partners

In the News – 2005

RBJ Viewpoint

December 21, 2005

New Jersey firm pays $13.6M for Quincy office building

Boston Business Journal

Morgan Stanley Real Estate sold a 120,000-square-foot office building at 150 Newport Ave. to Normandy Real Estate Partners for $13.6 million. The building is located in Quincy, Mass., a 4.5 million-square-foot office market with a 8.4 percent vacancy rate and is fully-leased to State Street Corp. Morgan Stanley sold the building on behalf of an institutional investor. Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC, which advised the seller and found the buyer, was named exclusive leasing agent by Normandy. Normandy Real Estate Partners is a privately owned, New Jersey-based real estate investment and management firm which has acquired more than $1 billion of assets since it was founded in 2002.

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October 21, 2005

Alexandria's spree points to allure of area biotech

Boston Business Journal

As San Diego-based BioMed Realty Trust Inc. was making headlines earlier this year when it closed on the nine-property, $531 million Lyme Properties portfolio in Cambridge, another California-based life sciences REIT was quietly building up its own portfolio -- and is continuing to add to it. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has been on a local life sciences buying binge since late last winter, picking off single-building assets in the Cambridge, Metrowest and Worcester markets. Over a period of about seven months, Alexandria has closed on eight properties and is rumored to be putting two more under agreement through a series of sale-leasebacks, open-market buys and off-market deals with private owners. "Eastern Mass. is certainly one of the most important life science markets in the world," says Tom Andrews, regional marketing director for Pasadena, Calif.-based Alexandria. "We consider this region to be an important part of our portfolio and we continue to actively seek acquisition and development opportunities in Massachusetts." "Actively" is certainly the key word. Alexandria began its shopping spree in March, acquiring the 62,000-square-foot 30 Bearfoot Road lab facility in Northborough in a sale-leaseback deal with ID Biomedical for $23.5 million, and the 82,000-square-foot 100 Beaver St. lab space in Waltham for $10.8 million. Alexandria closed on four more deals in late April and early May, getting 44 Hartwell Ave. in Lexington for $9.4 million; a 30,000-square-foot facility at 13-15 DeAngelo Blvd. in Bedford for $3.9 million; a 45,000-square-foot office building at 161 First St. in Cambridge for $11.6 million; and a $40.1 million sale-leaseback for the 128,000-square-foot Arqule headquarters in Woburn. Over the summer Alexandria picked up the 36,000-square-foot 155 Fortune Blvd. in Milford from Massachusetts Laborers Pension Fund for $6.9 million, and three weeks ago it acquired the 30,000-square-foot 45-47 Wiggins Ave. in Bedford from a private trust for $4.8 million. The REIT is also reportedly ready to close on two market deals: 171 Sidney St., a 27,000-square-foot office building in Cambridge being marketed by Meredith & Grew Oncor; and the 54,000-square-foot Preston Center in Bedford that Richards Barry Joyce & Partners is handling. According to sources, Alexandria was one of the finalists for 830 Winter St. in Waltham, the 180,000-square-foot headquarters of Praecis Pharmaceuticals, which went to Intercontinental Real Estate in a $51.7 million sale/leaseback trade two weeks ago. Alexandria has a portfolio of more than 125 properties totaling 8.2 million square feet in selected biotech markets across the country, and the recent deals represent a prototype for the way Alexandria operates in both the Bay State and nationally. "Alexandria is a very savvy, very experienced biotech developer," says Steve Purpura, a partner at RBJ. "They continue to grow their portfolio locally with traditional stabilized assets and with off-market development opportunities." Most of the deals brought 100 percent leased assets into the portfolio, and the other buys, like 171 Sidney St., Preston Center and 161 First St., are slated for renovations to reposition them as first-class lab space. And the properties picked up from private investors in off-market deals represent good value. The off-market deals at 45-47 Wiggins, 13-15 DeAngelo, and 100 Beaver St. all brought properties in at well below replacement cost. In 1999, Genome Therapeutics fully leased and retrofitted the top two floors of the three-story 100 Beaver St. into lab space before merging with Oscient in early 2004 and relocating. The building was picked up for about $132 per square foot, and one industry insider speculated that replacement cost "would be at least $250 per square foot." "They're some of the smartest people I've met in real estate, particularly in life sciences," says Greg Larsen, senior vice president and life sciences specialist for Boston-based NAI Hunneman Commercial. "Tom Andrews is a very good shopper. He makes good plays, especially with single (building) facilities." The 30 Bearfoot and 155 Fortune acquisitions bolster Alexandria's presence in Worcester county, where it owns and operates four buildings in Biotech Park near Worcester Medical Center, as well as its Massachusetts headquarters at One Innovation Drive. The deals also give them a firmer foothold in the Cambridge/Metrowest market. "They've been a leader in establishing the life science corridor that is now making its way out of Cambridge to Watertown, Lexington, Bedford and now Waltham," says Larsen. "I think it's a good sign for Massachusetts that Alexandria is investing so heavily in the area." Steve Murphy, partner at Campanelli Cos., whose firm re-developed the 480 Arsenal St. site in Watertown for Alexandria, says, "They have a very clear business plan and a very clear focus, and they excel at executing that business plan. They have a strong grasp of the industry and deep resources to underwrite that industry." Minuteman Park to sell, I-495 record possible - Michelle Hillman

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October 20, 2005
CHAMBER TO HONOR THREE SMALL COMPANIES
The Boston Globe
The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce plans to honor three small businesses at a ceremony today. Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, a commercial real estate services firm, will be honored as 2005 Small Business of the Year. In line for business excellence awards are Zipcar, the car-sharing service, and Woodman's of Essex, a seafood restaurant known for its clams.

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September 16, 2005 print edition
Real estate roundup
Rothman hitches wagon to growing international firm
Boston Business Journal

West is meeting east with the merger of homegrown Rothman Partners Architects Inc. with San Francisco-based Anshen & Allen to combine expertise in the increasingly competitive health care and academic arena. The combined firm will be called Anshen & Allen & Rothman. Rothman Partners, started by husband-and-wife team Martha and Elliot Paul Rothman, isn't the first homegrown design firm to find a partner on the national stage, but it has become more commonplace in a global economy. Martha Rothman said the merger was less for financial reasons than strategic. "In the era of globalization, it gave us a broader platform, more collaboration," said Rothman, managing principal. "As a midsize firm, we felt it strengthened our resources." The principals of both firms have known one another for a decade, with the two sharing a similar portfolio of health care work on either coast. Rothman said Anshen approached her 30-person firm for a merger because of its client list. Specializing in health care, research lab buildings and biomedical facilities, Rothman's list of clients includes major institutions such as Harvard University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, New England Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Tufts University. Rothman said her firm wasn't hit by the slowdown the rest of the architectural industry has faced in the past several years -- those feeling the most pain were ones that focused primarily on commercial work. According to Rothman's Web site, the 34-year-old firm began doing academic work in the mid-1990s. Anshen & Allen stands to benefit from a Northeast connection and top-flight clients to boot, but what is Rothman getting in return? If globalization is the key to surviving in a new economy, then Rothman has joined with the right folks. Anshen & Allen has been around since 1939 and has offices in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and London and Manchester, England. With a staff of 375 in five offices, it is one of the world's largest architectural firms. It started in the 1950s by designing homes, then by the 1970s grew to specialize in health care and education. Finally, the firm went global in the 1990s, with Anshen & Allen expanding to Asia and Europe. In the past 10 years, its projects have totaled more than 9 million square feet and $2.8 billion in construction costs. Staff from San Francisco will join the Boston office at 711 Atlantic Ave. over time. There's room in the sandbox ... Late last year, Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC hired Richard Herlihy to spearhead the firm's investment sales business. Herlihy had previously worked at Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Inc. -- Boston's highest producing investment sales shop -- but in a surprise move, he parted ways with Cushman to head his own investment sales group at RBJ. Since January, the market has heard nary a peep from Herlihy, who has gone about his business of selling commercial property. Last week, RBJ announced it had completed $100 million in sales totaling 1 million square feet in the first half of the year. The firm is on track to break the $200 million mark by the year's end. Herlihy, along with Richard Bradbury, make up the firm's investment sales team and have another $75 million in deals under agreement. The team also has another nine buildings, or about $250 million in deals -- including 830 Winter Street in Waltham and 150 Newport Avenue in Quincy -- in the pipeline. Among RBJ's sales this year are:

Fresh Pond Research Park: RBJ represented Boylston Properties in the sale of the Cambridge property to BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR). The sale price was $20.7 million.

161 First Street: On behalf of The Bulfinch Cos. Inc., RBJ brokered the sale of 161 First Street, Cambridge, to Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE). The California-based REIT purchased the building for $11.6 million.

150 Royall Street: RBJ represented Lennar Partners Inc. in the sale of 150 Royall St. in Canton to OneBeacon Insurance Group for its new headquarters. The sale price was $23.0 million.

What does Herlihy attribute to the recent success, besides the fact that buyers are clamoring for commercial property to invest in? Not blowing his own horn. "It's not about us, it's about our clients," said Herlihy. "There's the rub, if you're not trying to be a major league ego ... the business we have has generally come to us."

Michelle Hillman, real estate reporter for the Boston Business Journal, can be reached at mhillman@bizjournals.com.

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September 2, 2005 print edition

Minuteman Park to sell, I-495 record possible
Boston Business Journal

ANDOVER -- Minuteman Park, one of the premier office properties in the Boston suburbs, is on the sale block and bids will start at $230 million. The 94-acre park could set a high-water mark for suburban office sales and rival per-square-foot prices of downtown Boston office towers already sold this year. The bidding starts at $230 million but will likely go up from there considering the 954,000-square-foot, six-building Andover complex is an investor's dream -- 95 percent leased with a tenant roster boasting blue-chip names like Straumann USA, Smith & Nephew Inc., Polycom and NaviSite. The modern glass office buildings are situated on a landscaped campus complete with three-story atriums, stone walls, fountains, walking trails and ponds. Martin Spagat and his partners are selling the park at a time when prices for commercial real estate property have never been higher. Investors are drooling over commercial properties and paying hefty prices for real estate in an effort to deploy their capital. Already this year, office buildings in downtown Boston and the suburbs have sold for what many consider to be astronomical prices. This spring, TIAA-CREF paid $270 million -- or about $375 per square foot -- for 99 High St. in Boston's Financial District. Just this month, Wells Real Estate Funds Inc. paid $92.5 million -- or about $202 per square foot -- for the Nashoba Corporate Center in Westford. Equity Office Properties Trust paid $54 million for 25 Mall Road in Burlington, or just shy of $200 per square foot. If Spagat and partners get beyond $230 million for the property, they could achieve a $241 per-square-foot pricing. "It's one of the best parks in New England," said Robert Griffin, president of the New England area for Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Inc. "It's very well leased on a long-term basis, so it's going to be very appealing to the capital markets." Griffin confirmed Cushman has been hired to sell the property, which he expects to attract interest from pension funds, real estate investment trusts and foreign money due to the long-term nature of the leases at the park. There is no deadline for bids, and investors are already abuzz over how high the price could escalate. "You have no idea how far someone is going to reach, but if they do reach, it will be setting new records for 495," said Frank Petz, a director at L.J. Melody & Co. Petz said investors looking to deploy capital and seeking stabilized core assets with little leasing risk will be among the bidders for Minuteman. Unlike the typical suburban red brick office buildings with wrap-around "ribbon" windows, Minuteman was designed with glass and steel exteriors, creating ample light and a spacious interiors. Last year, Minuteman made headlines when it secured a 15-year, 160,000-square-foot lease with Swiss medical device company Straumann for its first U.S. manufacturing facility. The company chose Minuteman because of the natural light, interior courtyards and the open design, said Stephen James, executive vice president and principal at NAI/Hunneman Commercial Co., who represented Straumann. Straumann moved into its new headquarters building at 100 Minuteman this spring after it underwent a gut renovation. Straumann's rents were previously reported to be $14 triple net -- in which the tenant pays the building's taxes, utilities, insurance and upkeep -- per square foot. James called Minuteman one of the finest office parks on the East Coast. "I think they're trying to take advantage of the demand for unbelievably high-quality assets," said James. Office space at the Minuteman buildings rents at the top of the 495 North market, with leases signed in the high teens, triple net, compared to lesser-quality office buildings that rent for $8 to $11 per square foot, also on a triple net basis, said John Wilson, a partner at Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC. "I think the ownership won't sell for anything other than a best-in-class number," said Wilson. For the first time in 12 months, leasing in the 495 North market experienced a slight improvement, with vacancy rates declining to 30.1 percent from 32 percent, said Wilson. Though high, Wilson said the slight drop in vacancy is encouraging, given the "depression" the market has seen since the telecom bust in 2001. Spagat developed Minuteman with Brickstone Properties Inc. and has owned the property since the mid-1990s, he said. Spagat bought an empty manufacturing building and the land from Digital Equipment Corp., permitted the site and built several buildings for PictureTel Corp., then later for NaviSite and Smith & Nephew, said Wilson.

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August 19, 2005 print edition

Real Estate Roundup

Growing retail developer Wilder likes view at the Pru

Boston Business Journal

Retail developer The Wilder Cos. is moving on up -- into the Prudential Tower, making room for its growing staff and development projects. The firm, which also manages and leases retail properties, has doubled in size, growing out of its 5,500-square-foot offices in Horticultural Hall at 300 Massachusetts Ave. and taking 9,200 square feet on the 13th floor at 800 Boylston St. Wilder is subleasing space from Vignette Corp. for rents in the "high teens" per square foot until September 2008 and is currently negotiating a direct deal with landlord Boston Properties for four more years beyond the sublease term or until 2012, said Wilder's broker, Tom O'Regan of Boston's Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC. The move puts the Wilder Cos. down the street from one of its signature projects in Boston, the redevelopment of 501 Boylston St., and closer to the retail scene in the Back Bay. One of the reasons the company needed more space, according to Andrew LaGrega, a principal at Wilder Cos., is to keep up with the retail-development business, which is booming. The company -- which owns and manages 35 properties nationally -- has its hand in just about every significant retail project in the state. Among the projects the company is currently working on -- besides leasing retail space at Beacon Capital Partners' project at 501 Boylston, as well as International Place and the Theater District's City Place -- are a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use project in Northborough combining retail and residential uses and another 540,000-square-foot mixed-use project on routes 128 and 20 in Waltham. Wilder Cos. is also involved in a joint venture with Sam Park & Co., for a proposed retail development in Gloucester. Farther from home, Wilder Cos. is also developing a $75 million, 350,000-square-foot retail and luxury residential complex in Orlando, Fla. The development, called the Rialto, is being built at the former location of a Days Inn that Wilder bought for $9.3 million. After the hotel is demolished, construction of condominiums with restaurants, office space and shops will begin, with the first phase set to open in 2006. The Wilder Cos. is also replicating its 480,000-square-foot shopping center called "The Loop" at the site of the old Methuen Mall, taking the idea and name to Kissimmee, Fla., where it's building a 440,000-square-foot shopping center called -- what else? -- The Loop. Warm welcome If there was ever a doubt in the minds of the executives making real estate decisions at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay Inc., the first day in the nonprofit's new offices at 51 Sleeper St. eased the worry. Aside from complimentary coffee and bagels, a group of about 75 United Way staffers, including President and CEO Milton J. Little Jr., received a donation of $10,000 from their new landlord, John McGrail of the Mayo Group. Perhaps McGrail was grateful that the nonprofit decided to move into 50,000 square feet of office space, where it is the anchor tenant in the otherwise empty building. Before considering Sleeper Street, the United Way had been deep in negotiations with the ownership of 470 Atlantic Ave. Due to a signage debacle, the United Way took its business elsewhere and leased at the mothballed building the Mayo Group has owned for less than six months. The nonprofit signed a 15-year lease in the 150,000-square-foot building located just behind the Boston Children's Museum. "That (donation) was a surprise. It was clearly a surprise to the staff in the room," said Brigid Boyd, spokeswoman for the agency. Striking suburban deals

ARC/Architectural Resources Inc. leased 17,705 square feet of office space at 5 Cambridge Center in Cambridge. The firm will relocate its headquarters from 140 Mount Auburn St. in Cambridge. Spaulding & Slye Colliers represented both the landlord, AEW Capital Management LP, and the tenant.

GS Gauging Inc. has signed a lease for 30,000 square feet of office and R&D space at 200 Research Drive in Wilmington for its corporate headquarters. Trammell Crow Co. represented the tenant and the landlord, Wakefield Investments Inc.

Network Appliance signed a lease for 35,769 square feet at Reservoir Place in Waltham. Network Appliance will consolidate two Waltham locations in December 2005. Spaulding & Slye Colliers represented the tenant and the landlord, Boston Properties Inc. represented itself.

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June 21, 2005

Richards Barry brokers 76K sq. ft. of space for biotechs
Boston Business Journal

Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC announced Tuesday it brokered 76,000 square feet of leases for biotech companies in Cambridge, Waltham and Lexington. Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) leased 37,000 square feet at One Kendall Square, Building 1400, in Cambridge. The 4-1/2-year lease for office space represents continued expansion for this biotech company, leases about 80,000 square feet of space in two locations: 60 Hampshire Street and One Kendall Square. The landlord, Lincoln Property Co., represented itself. ActivBiotics Inc. leased 17,800 square feet at 110 Hartwell Ave. in Lexington. ActivBiotics signed a three-year lease for office and laboratory space. RBJ represented the tenant and the landlord Glenborough Realty Trust. ActivBiotics moved from 128 Spring Street, also known as Ledgemont Center, in Lexington. RBJ brokered a 21,500 square foot sublease for BG Medicine Inc. at the Hobbs Brook Office Park, 610 Lincoln St. in Waltham. BG moved from 40 Bear Hill Road in Waltham. The three-plus year lease is for office and laboratory space. RBJ represented BG Medicine and the sublessor of the space, GPC Biotech Inc., was represented by CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners. The property's landlord is FM Global. According to RBJ, lab space in Greater Boston experienced 330,000 square feet of positive absorption in the two quarter period ending March 31, lowering the vacancy rate 2.7 percent to 14.2 percent.

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May 18, 2005

Invesco buys Northborough warehouse for $16M

Boston Business Journal

Northborough Land Realty Trust sold 55 Lyman St. in Northborough to Invesco Realty Advisors for approximately $16 million. The 260,561-square-foot distribution building was put up for sale by Northborough Land Realty Trust, an affiliated entity of the Gutierrez Co., and is 50 percent leased to McKesson Medical-Surgical Inc., a division of San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. McKesson uses the building as its New England distribution operation. The sale was brokered by Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC, which represented the seller and found the buyer. Invesco, who has hired Richards Barry as the exclusive leasing agent for the building, will lease the remaining 132,000 square feet at the Lyman St. building. The building is ideal for warehouse/distribution use, featuring 32-foot clearance height and is located near the Mass Pike, I-495, I-290 and Routes 9 and 20. The building is close to many hotels, restaurants and shopping. "Invesco is very excited about this acquisition, given the quality and location of the building," said Brad Takala, acquisitions officer at Invesco Real Estate, in a statement. "Having half of the building already leased to a top-notch tenant was certainly an advantage. We feel very strongly about the building's ability to compete in the I-495 submarket." According to research by Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, the Industrial market in I-495 West is composed of 9.5 million square feet, which includes 6.4 million square feet of warehouse space and 3.1 million square feet of manufacturing space. Warehouse space in the I-495 West submarket is 23.2 percent vacant, while manufacturing space stands at 22.8 percent vacancy. Much of the vacancy consists of buildings with lower clear height, ranging from 18 feet to 24 feet clear.

Michelle Hillman can be reached at mhillman@bizjournals.com.

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May 13, 2005 print edition

Real estate roundup

After Lyme portfolio bid, BioMed Realty speaks out

Boston Business Journal

Less than a year after going public, BioMed Realty Trust Inc. is on the cusp of making the largest purchase of life sciences and lab buildings in the country. Once the deal closes later this month, BioMed will have bought a portfolio of top-notch property that only real estate geeks can fully appreciate. Last week, three BioMed executives sat down with the Boston Business Journal to lay out exactly how the San Diego real estate investment trust quietly entered the Boston market and tied up a $531 million portfolio of nine properties first put on the market last June by The Lyme Timber Co., an affiliate of Lyme Properties LLC. Once the acquisition closes, BioMed's portfolio will be 4.1 million square feet -- with 43.1 percent of that concentrated in Massachusetts. Though the deal hasn't closed, a few things are certain. BioMed will open a Cambridge office in one of the seven properties it acquires. It plans to hire Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC to lease the portfolio. There are no imminent plans to sell any or all of the portfolio. "We haven't acquired this portfolio with any notion of disposing of any of it," said Bill Gartner, vice president and director of real estate operations for BioMed. While Lyme officials were crunching the numbers of various scenarios, BioMed's executives last fall were only beginning to get active in the life sciences market after raising $429 million in an initial public offering. BioMed had been following Lyme's recapitalization plans, but didn't make an official offer. According to Matthew G. McDevitt, vice president of acquisitions at BioMed, Lyme and its brokers at Morgan Stanley approached a select handful of groups with cash to invest and the willingness to spend half a billion dollars to buy Lyme Timber out of the lab development side of the business. It makes sense that McDevitt was familiar with Lyme's portfolio from the years he spent helping another real estate investment trust, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. of Pasadena, Calif., build its portfolio on the East Coast. Now, McDevitt and two others from Alexandria -- Alan Gold, chairman, president and chief executive officer; and Gary Kreitzer, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of BioMed -- will compete directly with their former employer for life sciences assets. McDevitt said the lab market in Cambridge and the Boston area was ready for another real estate investment trust. As it stands now, the BioMed executives suggested that besides the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, there's not a larger lab-space player in town -- at least not East Cambridge. Before BioMed was approached, Lyme tried to strike a deal with Forest City Enterprises Inc. of Cleveland. It also tried to strike deals with the private equity investment firm Warburg Pincus LLC and New York-based Vornado Realty Trust. McDevitt said David Clem, managing director of Lyme Properties, had hoped to keep the whole portfolio together rather than sell the assets off separately. When a deal with Vornado -- which planned to make an investment into the partnership and cash out the Lyme Timber executives -- collapsed, BioMed executives were brought the to table. McDevitt said BioMed developed a relationship with Lyme and Clem, who he said was interested in finding a proper steward of the assets, which include the pristine Genzyme building in Kendall Square as well as other trophy lab properties. Ultimately, Clem was able to hold on to development sites in the Longwood Medical Area and Cambridge, and BioMed was able to enter a market where few new, large life sciences landlords -- outside of Lyme, Forest City and Alexandria -- have materialized. "This is the market on the East Coast where we have the opportunity to come in and be a franchise player," said McDevitt. "That's what our investors invested in us to do." Before entering into an agreement with Lyme, BioMed purchased a $30 million portfolio of buildings including Fresh Pond Research Park, a six-building, 90,700-square-foot complex in Cambridge, and a 37,400-square-foot property on Coolidge Avenue in Watertown which is fully-leased to V.I. Technologies Inc., known as Vitex. Alexandria reportedly also bid on the properties, according to BioMed's execs. When asked about the relationship with Alexandria, McDevitt was quiet. Gartner acknowledged the REIT is a competitor and said Alexandria has done an excellent job since going public. "Upon the closing of this deal, certainly BioMed has created a significant position in the Cambridge market that other companies have tried to achieve but have not been successful at," said Bob Richards, president of Richards Barry Joyce.

MICHELLE HILLMAN is the real estate reporter for the Boston Business Journal. She can be reached at mhillman@bizjournals.com.

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Friday, May 6, 2005 - Updated: 02:27 AM EST
Downtown to lose two big employers
Boston Herald
Even as it struggles to rebound economically, the Hub is poised to lose hundreds of relatively high-paying jobs as a pair of corporate mainstays bail town. OneBeacon Insurance Group announced plans to move its headquarters to Canton. The company has 350 employees at downtown's One Beacon tower, a pioneering high-rise that the company had a hand in building in the early 1970s. Meanwhile, Brighton defense contractor Barry Controls is shuttering its high-profile manufacturing plant, which for decades has been perched alongside the Massachusetts Turnpike. With Boston-area roots that go back to World War II, Barry Controls is moving some of its operations to Hopkinton and the rest to the Midwest. The moves come as the Bay State and Boston itself struggle to emerge from the last recession. Hit by a series of employment-killing acquisitions of its top companies, the Hub has posted some of the most dismal job-growth rates in the country. Additionally, the cost of doing business remains high in Boston - a factor that likely played a part in both Barry and OneBeacon's moves. "This will help (OneBeacon) cut their headquarters real estate costs by 40 percent,'' said Robert Richards, president of commercial real estate firm Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, which brokered the deal that will take OneBeacon to the suburbs. "It's a huge savings.'' Overall, downtown rents are in the $40- to $50--a-square-foot range - often $15 to $20 higher than those in suburban office projects. But OneBeacon may make out even better in the long-run, opting to buy its new headquarters on Route 128 for $23 million. That should prove even more cost-effective than leasing, Richards said. Still, consolidating its employees under one roof was OneBeacon's driving factor, spokeswoman Carmen Duarte said. The company plans to move employees out of offices in Milford and Foxboro. Barry Controls' exodus reflects a long decline in urban manufacturing in Boston and around the country. Richards, who's seeking an occupant for Barry's current space, said attracting another manufacturer would probably be a long shot. But he said retailers and even office tenants might take a look, though. "Never say never,'' Richards said - By Scott Van Voorhis

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April 29, 2005 print edition

Houghton Mifflin said to eye new Copley Place HQ

Boston Business Journal

Houghton Mifflin Co. is negotiating with the landlord at Copley Place for up to 200,000 square feet -- a deal that could result in the textbook publisher vacating some or all of its headquarters at 222 Berkeley St. The publisher leases 250,000 square feet at 222 Berkeley and subleases 50,000 square feet at 500 Boylston St. until 2007. However, a week ago the landlord at 222 Berkeley -- a joint venture of Hines/Equity Office Properties Trust -- listed Houghton's space as available for lease, prompting real estate brokers to speculate the company was leaving its headquarters for Copley. At least one real estate executive said Houghton was close to signing a letter of intent for office space at Copley. Ronald Perry, executive vice president at Meredith & Grew Inc., the leasing agent at 222 Berkeley and 500 Boylston on behalf of the landlord, confirmed the space at 222 Berkeley is being marketed for lease but declined to comment further. The landlord is a joint venture between Houston, Texas-based Hines Interests LP and Chicago's Equity Office Properties Trust. Ogden White, senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners who represents the landlord at Copley, Simon Property Group Inc., declined to comment. McCall & Almy Inc.'s David Richardson referred questions about his client, Houghton Mifflin, to the tenant's communications department. It's no secret that Houghton Mifflin has been negotiating with its current landlord since last year. Unable to reach an agreement with Houghton over future requirements, the landlord decided to put the space on the market but will continue to talk with Houghton, said sources. If Houghton does remain at 222 Berkeley, it will reduce the amount of space it occupies in the 520,000-square-foot building. Copley Place, which has 845,000 square feet of office space, has landed a couple of significant deals in recent months, signing Boston Medical Center for 105,000 square feet and renewing a 150,269-square-foot lease with Investors Bank & Trust Co. Copley Place is a mixed-use complex totaling 1.2 million square feet and is located at 100 Huntington Ave. on a 9.5-acre site that includes two levels of shopping, restaurants, four office buildings, two hotels and 1,400 parking spaces. Brendan Carroll, director of research at Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC, said rents are lower in the Back Bay than in the Financial District and are 30 percent lower than three years ago. While he was not familiar with negotiations between Houghton and Back Bay landlords, he guessed cut-rate prices might be attracting tenants to Copley. A separate source indicated rents at Copley were in the $30-per-square-foot range.

Michelle Hillman can be reached at mhillman@bizjournals.com.

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March 18, 2005

Berkeley Investments names broker for Fort Point holdings

Boston Business Journal

Berkeley Investments Inc. selected Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC as the broker of its Fort Point Channel portfolio, which it acquired in December from Boston Wharf Co. for $100 million. The portfolio consists of 700,000 square feet in 12 office buildings, two parking garages and four surface parking lots located on Congress Street, Farnsworth Street and Boston Wharf Road in Boston's Seaport District from the Boston Wharf Company. Vacancy for the property was not immediately available, but leasing efforts have begun at the property. "There has already been a lot of leasing activity, and these buildings are able to accommodate leases ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 square feet, which is very appealing to tenants of various sizes," said Michael Joyce of RBJ LLC in a statement. Berkeley Investments, Inc. is a Boston-based real estate investment, development and asset management company with assets totaling 4 million square feet of office, R&D and industrial properties.

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February 7, 2005

Invesco buys Franklin warehouse for $15.5M

Boston Business Journal

Invesco Real Estate purchased a 227,000-square-foot distribution center at 135 Constitution Blvd. in Franklin for $15.5 million from seller Davel Realty Associates. The facility is fully leased to a Richmond, Va.-based medical and surgical supply distributor Owens & Minor Inc. Located in the Franklin industrial park and built in 1987, the building was expanded in 1998. It features 30-foot clear heights and 34 loading docks and serves as Owens & Minor's Northeast distribution facility. Richards Barry Joyce & Partners brokered the transaction on behalf of Invesco and will also handle the future leasing for Invesco. "We feel that this is a solid investment for Invesco and consistent with our investment strategy in the northeast," said Brad Takala, acquisitions officer at Invesco Real Estate. "The fact that the building is fully leased and located in a Class A, master-planned park attracted us to the asset."

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