Taurus Pays $75M for Boston-Area Office Asset

300 Baker Avenue. Image courtesy of Taurus Investment Holdings

Taurus Investment Holdings LLC has enhanced its portfolio with the acquisition of 300 Baker Ave., a 410,300-square-foot office property in Concord, Mass. The global real estate private equity firm purchased the Boston-area asset from Novaya Real Estate Ventures in a $74.5 million transaction.

Sited on an approximately 75-acre site, 300 Baker is a three-story building that first opened its doors in the 1950s as home to electronics manufacturer GenRad. The property last changed hands in December 2016 when Novaya acquired the asset for $63.5 million. Today, the three-story building is 93.2 percent leased to 13 tenants, including Emerson Hospital and Welch’s, which signed on for 85,000 square feet to house its headquarters in 2012.

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Taurus relied on Newmark Knight Frank to orchestrate the 300 Baker transaction and secured $56.3 million in debt financing through MetLife Real Estate Lending.

Greening of a Building

Peter Merrigan. Image courtesy of Taurus Investment Holdings

Taurus selected 300 Baker to serve as the flagship project for its subsidiary, RENU Communities, which develops and implements carbon-neutral energy ecosystems for office and multifamily properties. “The 300 Baker project combines the right mix of energy upgrade opportunity, ownership support, renewable energy potential, and regulatory environment to support the RENU Communities approach,” Peter Merrigan, CEO of Taurus Investment Holdings, told Commercial Property Executive.

RENU has not completed the final design for the renovation just yet. However, the group plans to address existing energy inefficiencies, modernize the HVAC system and potentially install on-site solar and a geogrid installation. RENU plans to invest more than $10 million in the property’s transformation.

Taurus anticipates a warm reception from the office-using community upon completion of the upgrades at 300 Baker. “We believe ESG—environmental, social, and governance—factors is already becoming a standard decision factor in the selection of office space for businesses,” Christopher Gray, chief technology officer at RENU Communities, told CPE. “We expect that demands for clean air and energy will continue to increase in the workplace along with reducing occupancy cost via energy efficiency to the greatest extent possible.”