Bluestone Putting Waltham Place on Market

WALTHAM, MA-This community at the core of the suburban Boston office market is seeing another property hit the sales block, as Bluestone Holdings Inc. has retained Cushman & Wakefield to peddle Waltham Place, a pair of first-class buildings the Newton-based firm has owned since February 2001. Totaling 202,000 sf, the properties at 266 and 275 Second Ave. were purchased by Bluestone for $44.6 million, but are expected to fetch well beyond that mark.

While declining to offer any pricing estimates, broker Elizabeth Carrillo Thomas of C&W’s Capital Markets Group says she expects Waltham Place will garner substantial attention from investors looking to participate in the region’s anticipated rebound. The C&W executive director is overseeing the assignment in partnership with C&W principal Marci Griffith Loeber. “It’s a fabulous location,” Thomas says of the park, citing both visibility along Route 128 and quick access to both that major thoroughfare and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Route 20, connecting to several bedroom communities, is also near by, she notes, a key given Waltham is considered valuable for tapping into the region’s skilled labor market.

Besides benefiting from the stronger economy, Waltham Place has fared well under Bluestone’s stewardship, adds Thomas. The properties were among a half-dozen Bluestone secured earlier this decade after concentrating previous investments outside New England, such as Houston. The tenant roster at Waltham Place offers stability through 2010, says Thomas, and rents by that point are expected to be even higher for Waltham than at present. Until then, Waltham Place is fully occupied by a number of technology firms, with CSC Consulting Corp. the prime tenant.