The Meadows, located at 155 and 161 Worcester Rd. (Route 9), traded for $25 million, while Maric Inc. harvested 959 Concord St. for $13.7 million and 125 Newbury St. for $5.2 million. GlobeSt.com previously reported that CRP and Maric were negotiating to complete the off-market transaction, which was orchestrated by the Boston office of Eastdil Secured. Maric paid an aggregate of $42 million in buying the building between 1995 and 2005.
Although the sale has closed, efforts to wean a response from the parties involved were unsuccessful, as in the case of the original article. CRP officials declined comment and Maric principal Mark Rubin did not return a call by press deadline. Also keeping mum are brokers at Eastdil Secured, whose Boston team includes James McCaffrey, Peter Joseph, Christopher Phaneuf and Sara Lagosh.
Market watchers say the overall quality of the properties likely helped the deal survive what has been a harsh climate for investment sales to date in 2005. "Maric is to be commended for putting together such a high quality (portfolio)," one veteran broker tells GlobeSt.com. The source says that the firm's management of the buildings has kept them competitive despite the age of the structures, some of which came on line more than 20 years earlier. The Framingham Corporate Center, known to locals as 492 Old Connecticut Path, was developed in the 1980s into 165,000-sf of high-end office space and today is regarded as a prime location for suburban tenants.
The Meadows has 120,000 sf and a separate restaurant parcel that recently landed a new tenant for a 10-year lease for all 7,200 sf. The next largest asset is the 75,000-sf 959 Concord St., followed by 35,000 sf at 125 Newbury St. The sale equates to a healthy per-sf price of $208, and some sources say that figure would likely have been higher except that CRP agreed to assume existing debt on some of the properties. Details were not given, but registry of deeds records show Maric had mortgages on 125 Newbury St., Framingham Corporate Center and the Meadows at the time of the sale.
Whatever the arrangement, Colony and Maric were ultimately able to get their pact across the goal line, bucking a recent spate of deals that have faltered in the late going. Based in Boston, Colony Realty Partners has a national footprint for its investment strategy, one that includes a mix of industrial, multifamily, office and retail space. Observers say they believe the pension fund advisor is acquiring the Framingham portfolio for a third fund being assembled, but that could not be confirmed. At 94% occupancy, the assets should offer a chance to increase income as rents roll into an improving office market, says one broker familiar with the buildings and the buyer. "They absolutely know what they are doing," the source says of CRP's team.
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