Deal Tracker: Two Lab Firms Packing Their Bags

DrugDev is relocating its Boston area operations to 25 Thomson Place in Boston.

BOSTON—Two health care firms have signed new leases in Greater Boston in relocation deals. DrugDev will be moving from Newton, MA to Boston, while Ocular Therapeutix is shifting its headquarters operations to larger space in Bedford, MA. DrugDev, a growing global clinical trials technology and management health care solutions company, is relocating its operations from Newton to 16,437 square feet of space at 25 Thompson Place in Boston’s Innovation District. DrugDev, which is headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, is relocating its Boston area operations that are focused primarily on SaaS solution development and customer project management. NAI Hunneman EVP Evan Gallagher and associate Matt Davis represented DrugDev in the transaction while Thomas O’Regan of JLL represented the building owner. Brian Fisher, COO of DrugDev’s Boston operations, says, “As demand for our solutions continues to grow, we need to remain committed to attaining and retaining the best possible talent available. Boston’s Innovation District on the waterfront is an ideal intersection of technology, life sciences and business expertise. Coupled with our collaborative corporate culture, the new Boston office will feature a shared open environment that brings out the best in our team to benefit customers—and ultimately patients—worldwide.” Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has signed a full building lease totaling 70,712 square feet of office and laboratory space at 15 Crosby Drive in Bedford, MA. Ocular Therapeutix, a leading developer of sustained ophthalmic therapies, is scheduled to take occupancy in early 2017 from its previous location at 34 Crosby Drive. Building owners Novaya Real Estate Ventures and Wheelock Street Capital report the property will undergo significant tenant improvement work, including lobby and elevator renovations that are expected to be completed in late 2016. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s executive managing director Torin Taylor represented the tenant and Mark Mulvey, executive managing director of Cushman & Wakefield, represented the landlord in the transaction. Leasing Orbis Education , in partnership with Northeastern University ‘s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, has signed a long-term, 13,904-square-foot lease expansion at 5 Burlington Woods Drive in Burlington, MA, reports Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Part of Northeastern University’s School of Nursing, the ABSN Program is designed for those who already hold a Bachelor’s degree in another field and wish to acquire a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and become a Registered Nurse. NGKF Director Brendan Daly and the firm’s 128 West team represented the Northeastern University ABSN Program in the transaction, which doubles the amount of space leased by the tenant. “This expansion allows us to build a state-of-the-art simulation lab which enhances our on-site offering to our growing nursing student population,” says Tom Ryan, site director, Northeastern University ABSN Program. Owned by Capstone Properties, 5 Burlington Woods Drive is a 110,000-square-foot, three-story office building. KeyPoint Partners reports it has negotiated a lease with Maxx Fitness Clubzz for 23,042 square feet of space at Ocean State Plaza in Warren, RI. Ocean State Plaza is a 126,200 square foot shopping center on Metacom Avenue (Route 136), with tenants that include Ocean State Job Lot, Family Dollar, Fantastic Sams, Elsie’s Bakery, East Bay Printing & Copying, and others. The new Maxx Fitness will occupy space at the Vernon Street side of the center. KeyPoint’s VP of leasing Don Mace negotiated the transaction on behalf of the landlord, according to Robert Lemons, managing partner of the firm. Investment Sales WinnDevelopment , the development arm of multifamily property developer and manager WinnCompanies, has acquired and will begin construction on the occupied rehabilitation of the historic Schoolhouse Apartments in Waterbury, CT. The restoration is expected to be completed by the fall of 2017. The scope of the $16.4-million rehabilitation project includes a restoration of masonry exteriors, the replacement of exterior lighting, and the repair and replacement of roofs, siding and wood trim, new signage, security cameras, and improved handicap accessibility. Apartments will undergo mechanical system upgrades and the installation of new cabinetry, appliances, and fixtures in kitchens and bathrooms, the company states. “Our investment in Schoolhouse Apartments allows us to continue to preserve both the affordability of 213 rental units and the historic integrity of three storied relics of Waterbury’s past,” says Larry Curtis, president and managing partner of WinnDevelopment. “We are going to work hard to orchestrate these improvements without causing significant disruption to residents.” The scattered site community, located in Waterbury’s Hillside Historic District, consists of three freestanding buildings originally developed at the turn of the 20 ^th century as public schools. In 1982, the former Bishop, Webster and Wilby schools were repurposed into 213 affordable rental housing units for elderly and disabled residents. WinnResidential will have property management responsibilities for Schoolhouse Apartments. The community will enjoy enhanced service offerings once the rehabilitation is completed. The project will utilize an allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, as well as financing from the Connecticut Department of Housing and federal subsidies from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Boston Financial Investment Management is the project’s equity investor. Scott R. Hughes, president of New Dover Associates, Inc . of Framingham, MA brokered the sale of the three-story, 57,000-square-foot office building at 134 Flanders Road in Westborough, MA for the purchase price of $5.75 million. New Dover Associates, Inc. represented the seller, Baltic Westborough LLC, and procured the buyer, 134 Flanders Road LLC, of the more than five-acre property. Development Tocci Building Cos. , a Woburn, MA-based construction management company, announced that it has recently completed the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Brookline, MA on behalf of the owner the Claremont Companies . The upscale 130-key, 101,996-square-foot all-suite hotel is located at 111 Boylston St. The project team included architects, Group One Partners, Inc. and mechanical and electrical engineers, R.W. Sullivan Engineering. “Claremont Hotels has successfully created one of the most exciting and innovative Hilton Homewood Suites for the Town of Brookline,” says John Tocci, chief enabling officer at Tocci. “The town’s high standards and the site’s complexities were all integrated into the clean, modernist architecture and deluxe finishes. We are proud to have delivered such a high quality product.” New Hires, Awards Newmark Grubb Knight Frank reports that Ben Sutton has joined the team as a director in the company’s Boston office. Sutton joins the Downtown team and will primarily focus on emerging technology groups. Sutton has eight years of tenant advisory experience for local, regional and national office tenants. Prior to joining NGKF, he was employed as a vice president with NAI Hunneman, where he concentrated on Boston’s downtown office market and sourcing cost effective solutions for technology firms. Throughout his career, Sutton has represented numerous clients including: SimpliSafe, DataRobot, Uber, Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Zagster, AZTherapies and Sample6, to name a few. “We think that Ben is one of the brightest and hardest working young professionals in the market. Ben has shown an ability to identify, pursue and secure assignments from great firms like Uber, DataRobot and Zagster. We have been working across the table from him for the past few years and we are so happy that he is on our team now,” says David Martel, NGKF executive managing director. NAIOP Massachusetts has announced that commercial brokerage veteran Bill McCall will receive the 2016 Edward H. Linde Public Service Award . Recipients of this award are chosen based on their civic and charitable contributions, along with a life-long commitment to the highest values of service to the greater community. The award will be presented to McCall at NAIOP’s Annual Awards Gala on Thursday, Nov. 10 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston. “Bill McCall is tirelessly devoted to public service and is committed to the Boston community,” says David Begelfer, CEO of NAIOP Massachusetts. “Bill has made a huge impact in our industry and our city, and is more than deserving of this award.” After graduating from the College of the Holy Cross, McCall became a pilot in the US Navy, and then began his career in commercial real estate at the Nordblom Co. in 1961. Four years later, he co-founded Leggat McCall & Werner, and sold the brokerage business to Grubb & Ellis in 1986. McCall and David Almy then started the real estate advisory and tenant representation only firm McCall & Almy in 1990, where McCall still actively serves as its president. Besides being a leader in Boston’s commercial real estate industry, he is also involved in many industry and philanthropic organizations. He is a past president of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, former chairman of the Massachusetts Land Bank, and presently serves on the real estate committee of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board. His leadership includes serving in various capacities for the Massachusetts Business Development Corporation, Jobs for Massachusetts, the Archdiocese of Boston, Beth Israel Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Winchester Hospital. He is one of the original members and the current chairman of the Norman B. Leventhal Park and Garage at Post Office Square. The Marlborough Economic Development Corporation has appointed Meredith Harris as its new executive director. Harris joined MEDC in July 2015 as director of business development and has been managing the organization’s day-to-day activities as director of operations since the May departure of former executive director Tim Cummings. Harris holds an undergraduate degree in writing and communications from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a graduate degree in Public Affairs from University of Massachusetts Boston. Prior to joining MEDC, she spent five years working as a legislative aide at the Massachusetts State House, followed by a three-year stint as part of the real estate group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Co. This summer, the MEDC Executive Committee undertook an extensive recruitment search to fill the executive director position. “While we met with a number of qualified individuals, we quickly realized that Meredith was the right person for the job,” says MEDC Board of Directors chairman Richard Tomanek. “When Tim left, she stepped in and continued to carry our MEDC’s mission without skipping a beat, and we saw that she has the leadership and commitment that we needed in a new executive director. She has a contagious enthusiasm, a tremendous passion for the job and the city, and a fantastic ability to collaborate with all the different constituents within Marlborough, Boston and throughout New England.” Mark Whelan has joined NorthMarq Capital ‘s Boston-based regional office as vice president. At NorthMarq, Whelan’s principal focus will be sourcing debt and equity opportunities to be presented to a targeted set of capital sources through the creation of financing summaries, which will include financial analysis of the subject property, project and market data and sponsorship information. Whelan arrives at NorthMarq with 18 years of experience in the mortgage banking industry, during which time he has generated more than $2 billion in permanent, interim/bridge and construction debt placements. Prior to joining NorthMarq, Whelan spent 10 years at Fantini & Gorga, sourcing and completing more than $900 million in debt placements. Previously, he served on a two-man origination team in KeyBank Real Estate Capital’s Boston office for 4.5 years, during which the team originated more than $1 billion in debt volume through various capital platforms. Whelan has also worked as a loan analyst for Meredith & Grew (now Colliers International Boston), as a financial analyst for a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch and has served as a commercial real estate broker in the Cambridge, MA market for a Boston-based brokerage firm.