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CAMBRIDGE, MA-A 375,000-sf office/lab complex and adjacent development site are reportedly being acquired by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, industry sources have told GlobeSt.com. The transaction could exceed $145 million, which would far surpass industry forecasts made when brokers Cushman & Wakefield launched the marketing campaign in late spring. The price would also be more than double the $68 million paid in 2000 by the current owners, a partnership of Capital Properties LLC and Lehman Brothers.

"That's good info," offers one source responding to rumors that 215 First St. has found a taker in the Pasadena, CA-based REIT. "I think they have committed to it," concurs another. Constructed for industrial purposes in the late 19th century, 215 First St. was reborn as an office destination during the 1980s. The East Cambridge market has since emerged as one of the world's Meccas for life sciences, and 215 First St. is favored for its location near Lechmere Square and the Charles River.

"We are actively in negotiations," was all C&W New England president Robert Griffin Jr. would say when contacted by GlobeSt.com, although he did acknowledge substantial interest for the property. The chief of C&W's Capital Markets Group would not identify the lead prospect, and would neither confirm nor deny reports of Alexandria being the front-runner. Efforts to contact Capital founder Richard Cohen and Alexandria officials by press deadline were unsuccessful, but a filing of state documents late last week indicates Alexandria is poising to acquire another property in Massachusetts, a region where the REIT already has substantial holdings. Alexandria is active in Cambridge, last year paying nearly $100 million for one nearby complex and also doling out $675 million for the Technology Square office/lab complex.