DivcoWest Buys 670 KSF M-U Portfolio for $395M

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

DivcoWest has acquired One Kendall Square, in Cambridge, Mass., an 11-building, 7.9-acre campus that includes 670,000 square feet of office, lab and retail space; a nine-screen movie theater; a 1,500-space garage; and a small development parcel, the parties announced Wednesday. The seller was a joint venture of Rockwood Capital L.L.C., of White Plains, N.Y., and Related Beal, of Boston.

A source that is familiar with the deal and spoke with Commercial Property Executive on condition of anonymity put the transaction’s price tag at $395 million.

The seller was represented by Cushman & Wakefield.

The property’s roster of 50-plus tenants includes Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Akamai, Nine Point Medical, MIT, Abcam, Next Jump, CRB Consulting Engineers, Invivo Therapeutics, Redstar Ventures, Visterra Inc., Cogo Labs, Semprus Biosciences and Catabasis.

One Kendall Square has six full-service restaurants, a variety of shops, a daycare center, a fitness center and good access to public transportation via the MBTA’s Red and Green lines.

In addition, both buyer and seller touted the Kendall Square/East Cambridge submarket’s concentration of intellectual capital and its reputation as “a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship,” near scores of technology and life science companies and top educational institutions and research centers (One Kendall Square is adjacent to MIT).

The Rockwood–Related Beal JV had acquired the property from Lincoln Property Co. and JER Partners for $211 million in 2006. During their ownership, Rockwood and Related Beal invested $75 million in the property’s infrastructure, public spaces and tenant improvements. Upgrades included the addition of small-tenant incubator suites for life science start-ups, better food options, the addition of Cambridge’s busiest Hubway bicycle station (part of metro Boston’s bike-sharing system) and a new fitness center.

These initiatives, according to the JV, increased the property’s occupancy to more than 91 percent, more than doubling its net income.

The One Kendall Square purchase expands DivcoWest’s portfolio in Boston. Just last week, the company bought One Winthrop Square in Boston’s financial district from GLL Real Estate Partners, of Munich, for $36 million. The 114,257-square-foot building was built in 1873 and is currently 95 percent occupied.