Deal Tracker: Eastdil Team Jumps Ship, High-Rise Proposed in Downtown Crossing

Peter Joseph, vice chairman, Cushman & Wakefield, capital markets team

BOSTON— Peter Joseph , the founder of Eastdil Secured’s Boston office, and two of the firm’s managing directors have left the brokerage firm to join Cushman & Wakefield ‘s capital markets team. Colleagues Brian Barnett and Steffen Panzone have also joined C&W’s Boston-base capital markets group. Joseph, who has 30 years experience in commercial real estate finance, joins C&W as vice chairman. At Eastdil Secured Boston, he founded and co-managed the office since its launch in 2007 and was instrumental in building the Eastdil capital markets team into a market leader, company officials say. Barnett worked at Eastdil Secured for nine years and has been in the industry since 2003. Panzone was with Eastdil Secured for five years and has worked in the real estate field since 2009. “This is a great team that continues to build our platform in the Northeast and nationally – with an exceptional track record of successful transactions and satisfied clients,” says Noble Carpenter , president capital markets, Americas for Cushman & Wakefield. “This adds to our work of building a capital solutions platform, while providing local market expertise and product specialties to better serve our clients.” Development Locally-based Rafi Properties is looking to redevelop a former nightclub property on Washington St. The firm filed a Project Notification Form with the Boston Redevelopment Authority to build a new 30-story, 105,000-square-foot mixed use building at 533 Washington St . in Downtown Crossing. The firm in its March 31 ^st filing, told the BRA it plans to demolish the existing four-story building that previously operated as the Felt Nightclub and replace it with 94 residential units, restaurant space on the second floor totaling 4,500 square feet and incubator space on the third and fourth floors totaling 4,000 square feet. The project site is situated between the Boston Opera House and the Modern Theater. Rafi officials state that the firm plans to incorporate the existing façade of the 1866 circa building into its new high-rise. The building does not include any parking. The residential units will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The property was known in its early days as the Weed Sewing Machine Co . building. Rafi states in its BRA filing that the project will create approximately 350 construction jobs. The firm states that it hopes to begin construction in mid 2017 and expects work on the project to be completed over the next 14 months. Rafi Properties filed a Letter of Intent on the 533 Washington St. project on July 13, 2015. The firm has not released a development cost estimate for the venture. The City of Somerville, MA reports that urban grocer, Fresh Formats LLC , has filed building permit applications to open a fresh foods market at 240 Elm St. in Davis Square, the site of the former Social Security Building. Ongoing renovation of the building is underway and it is expected that the 11,000-square-foot ground floor will be a neighborhood market later this year, city officials say. The building, which is currently vacant, also includes 20,000 square feet of office space on the two upper floors that will be occupied by Davis Square Architects, a long-time tenant prior to the renovation, and others. An additional 2,400 square feet of office space in the basement will be leased separately. “Neighborhood residents have been clamoring for a grocer to complement the neighborhood’s specialty grocers including McKinnon’s and Dave’s Fresh, so this is welcome news,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone . “To have the kind of truly livable squares our community values, we need neighborhood grocery stores, as well as services that cover the full range of community needs from banks, salons, and eateries to pharmacies and doctor’s offices. It’s this mix that helps transform a simple business district into a vibrant town center.” Financing Global real estate investment firm Rockpoint Group LLC reports the Rockpoint Real Estate Fund V closed with $3.3 billion in total capital commitments. The final commitment level was higher than the $2.5-billion fund target, company officials say. Investors in Rockpoint V include prominent public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and other governmental entities from the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe and the Middle East. Rockpoint Real Estate Fund IV closed in 2013 with more than $2.3 billion of commitments and is fully invested. The firm’s lower-risk investment vehicle, Rockpoint Growth and Income Fund I, closed with more than $1 billion of aggregate commitments in 2015 and is now more than 85% committed. Late last year, Rockpoint acquired the 99 Summer St. office tower from Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors of Hartford, CT. Leasing HD Supply has renewed its 152,000-square-foot warehouse lease at 100 Meadow Road in Boston. The deal was reported by Transwestern RBJ , which represented the building owner National Development in the transaction. 100 Meadow Road is a 433,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution building, located in the Boston Business Park, near the Dedham, MA line. The building features an ESFR sprinkler system and 32-foot clear height. The building currently has 93,000 square feet of space available. RBJ partner John Lashar , SVP Rob Byrne and VP Chris Mullen represented the building owner. HD Supply, one of the largest industrial distributors in North America, was represented by Colliers International in the deal. Law Warehouse, Inc . has inked a new long-term lease for 132,241 square feet of space at 59 Daniel Webster Highway in Merrimack, NH. The firm, one of the largest distribution companies in New England, was represented by Larry Hirsch of Hirsch & Co . CBRE/New England’s Roger Dieker and Michael Tamposi represented the building owner, an affiliate of Hackman Capital . The 473,990-square-foot manufacturing/distribution facility is the former headquarters of Nashua Corp. “The demand for high-bay warehouse continues to be strong in the New Hampshire market, yet availability of this type of space is limited. It comes as no surprise that 59 Daniel Webster Highway offered the best solution for Law Warehouse,” says CBRE/NE’s Tamposi. “The building is well maintained, has great appeal with its high-bay warehouse space, competitive lease rate and proximity to major highways.”