Newmark Knight Frank Arranges $42M Boston Sale

Robert Griffin, Geoffrey Millerd and Paul Penman represented the seller and sourced the buyer of the office-and-retail property anchored by a Rolex flagship store.

8 Newbury St. Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank

Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has closed the $42.5 million sale of the Boston building housing North America’s largest Rolex-branded flagship store. Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets Robert Griffin, Vice Chairman Geoffrey Millerd and Director Paul Penman assisted the seller, a partnership between UrbanMeritage and L&B Realty Advisors. The team also sourced the buyer, a joint venture between Chilean family office Corso and Germany-based global real estate fund manager GLL Real Estate Partners.

Located in the Back Bay neighborhood, the fully leased retail-and-office property at 8 Newbury St. spans 17,023 square feet. The asset previously traded in 2013, when the seller acquired it for $15.2 million from a private investor, according to public records. East Boston Savings Bank provided a $15 million construction loan in 2015 which the seller used to redevelop of building. UrbanMeritage spent the past three years executing a gut renovation on the property, which included major upgrades to the lobby, roof, tenant interiors, shared amenities and historic façade.

The now LEED Gold-certified building was originally completed in the 1920s and served as a Rolls-Royce showroom. The property is anchored by the only Rolex store in Boston, with several high-net-worth family offices and private equity firms occupying the boutique offices on the upper levels. Other brands with stores on Newbury Street include Bvlgari, Chanel and Tiffany & Co.

In July, NKF assisted Breakthrough Properties in securing a 263,500-square-foot lease at The 105, a Class A laboratory asset in Boston. Gene editing company CRISPR Therapeutics will fully occupy the building upon completion in 2022.

If you’d like to be featured in Brokers’ Corner, simply fill in our short form or send your deal to [email protected].