GI Partners Buys Life Science Building in Boston’s Seaport District

451 D St. Image courtesy of GI Partners

GI Partners, of San Francisco, has acquired 451 D St. in Boston, a 479,000-square-foot life science, data center and creative office asset, the company announced on Wednesday.

The seller, Related Fund Management, will retain a minority interest in the building, and Related Beal will continue to serve as property manager.

The purchase price was not disclosed. Information provided to Commercial Property Executive by CommercialEdge states that the property was last purchased in May 2018 for $276 million, with about $227.3 million in financing from KKR.

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The nine-story structure was completed in 1909 as an industrial property, then converted to office use in 1980, also according to CommercialEdge.

GI Partners noted that 451 D has recently undergone two major phases of lab conversion that total more than half of the building’s rentable area.

451 D St. Image courtesy of GI Partners

Since Related Fund Management acquired the building in 2018, Related Beal reportedly has made major upgrades and renovations to accommodate life science tenants. The effort has been rewarded with leases by several biotech firms, according to Related.

Eastdil Secured represented the seller in this transaction and placed debt financing for the new ownership group.

In a prepared statement, John Sheputis, managing director at GI Partners and head of acquisitions for GI Partners Real Estate, called Boston’s Seaport neighborhood “one of the most important life sciences ecosystems in the country.” He added that “451 D exemplifies our focus on serving the needs of small and medium-sized lab tenants through Class A reusable buildouts.”

Another binge?

If GI Partners is gearing up to go on a tear like it did a year ago, watch out.

In July 2021, the private investment firm acquired a 230,000-square-foot R&D property, fully leased to Nokia, in Sunnyvale, Calif., for $254 million.

The previous month, GI Partners had bought both the 370,000-square-foot Mt. Eden Research Park in Hayward, Calif., from BentallGreenOak for $155 million and a 141,000-square-foot life science building in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood.

Despite headwinds from sublease space and layoffs by a few biotech companies, Boston’s lab space market remains solidly in landlords’ favor, with an overall availability under 2 percent, according to a first-quarter report from Colliers.

In the Seaport district, Eli Lilly unveiled plans for the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine, a $700 million initiative in a new 334,000-square-foot waterfront building that will be opening in 2024.