Biogen HQ Obtains $476M Recap

225 Binney St. Image courtesy of Newmark

The 225 Binney St. life science development in Cambridge, Mass., has received a $476 million recapitalization. With help from Newmark, a global institutional investor acquired a partial interest in the property, which serves as the global headquarters of biotechnology company Biogen.

TIAA-CREF purchased a 70 percent interest in the 305,212-square-foot asset in late 2015 from Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. for $190.1 million. The property traded at a total value of $271.6 million or $889 per square foot, while Alexandria remained the owner of the remaining stake.

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The news comes on the heels of Alexandria’s recapitalization of two nearby Cambridge properties: 50 and 60 Binney St., which total 530,000 square feet between them. Newmark worked on behalf of the REIT to close the deal with Norges Bank Investment Management and MetLife Investment Management.

The property at 225 Binney St. is part of Alexandria Center at Kendall Square—a 2.6 million-square-foot science and technology campus—and is situated within walking distance of MBTA Red Line’s Kendall/MIT subway station. The asset comprises a six-story structure that came online in 2013 and two older, renovated historic brick-and-beam buildings. The newly constructed building is LEED Gold certified.

The neuroscience-focused tenant—the oldest independent biotechnology firm in the world—has a large-scale campus in Cambridge. The 225 Binney St. property comprises all of the company’s executive offices.

Newmark’s team included arranging the deal Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Robert Griffin, Vice Chairman Edward Maher, Executive Managing Director Matthew Pullen and Managing Director Samantha Hallowell of the firm’s Boston Capital Markets Group.