"It's going to be a major deal," one local investment broker tells GlobeSt.com, saying the properties "will get tons of attention." Constructed between 1984 and 1986 by JLL's predecessor, Spaulding & Slye, the two buildings were pioneers in establishing Alewife as a business address, with several other properties constructed subsequent to that venture. Today, Alewife not only features several leading tenants, but also a host of amenities have followed the office construction, which now encompasses 2.1 million sf, according to JLL's Q1 office market results. Besides a hulking parking garage and the first stop inbound for the Red Line subway into Boston, 125 and 150 CambridgePark Dr. also abut a class A apartment complex and various retail and restaurant options that did not exist at the market's inception.

Calls regarding the sale of 125 and 150 CambridgePark Drive were referred to JLL principal Cappy Daume, who was unavailable for comment by press deadline. Other investment specialists working on the assignment reportedly include Scott Jamieson, Gail McDonough, and Michael Smith, who has participated in two prior sales of 125 and 150 CambridgePark Drive, the last in 2001 to JP Morgan.

A New York City-based real estate advisor and investment firm JP Morgan acquired the two assets for $97 million in December 2001 from Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, which had purchased them in early 1999 for $84 million. JLL has had a strong connection to the buildings throughout the assets' existence, including their current role as leasing agent and property managers.

The smaller and older of the buildings is 125 CambridgePark Dr., a six-story, 184,000-sf building developed in 1984, while 150 CambridgePark Dr. opened two years later. It features 252,000 sf in 10 stories. Current tenants in the buildings include EMC Corp., Advanced Magnetics, Harvard Design & Mapping and World Travel. The occupancy rate at 125 CambridgePark Dr. is 91.2%, compared to 60% for 150 CambridgePark Dr.

While the latter occupancy might seem a bit on the low side, observers say vacancy could be a plus for landlords given the shrinking inventory of space in Cambridge, especially for large blocks. Alewife had 14,000 sf of net absorption in the first quarter, JLL reports, putting the vacancy rate there at 11%, while the average asking rent there is now $27.42 per sf, a bargain compared to Cambridge's average asking rent of $34.24 per sf.