CAMBRIDGE, MA-Cresa Partner's third quarter market review indicates that rents for class A buildings in the city's office market are expected to drop 3% to 5% next year while office rates for class B space are likely to remain flat.

BURLINGTON, MA- Linear Retail Properties purchases the Marketplace, a 33,065-sf strip shopping center, for $11 million from PAC/SIC LLC, a Portland, OR-based real estate operating and development company. The center is located directly across from New England Executive Park and the Burlington Mall.

BOSTON-Liberty Mutual Group purchases 330 Stuart St. from American Student Assistance for $28 million. The 105,000-sf first-class office and retail building is located in the city's Back Bay. American Student Assistance, a non profit organization, relocated to 150,000 sf at 100 Cambridge St.

BOSTON-The Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care, a 10-story addition to the Massachusetts General Hospital, opens its doors. The $200 million, 320,000-sf ambulatory care center is the largest of its kind in the state.

WALTHAM, MA-Brown Publishing Network relocates from 555 Washington St. in Wellesley Center to 12,000 sf of office space at 95 Sawyer Rd. The company, which develops instructional materials utilized by educational publishers, also has office in New York City.

BRAINTREE, MA-Bernie & Phyl's Furniture purchases a 50,000-sf building on a three-acre site at 180 Wood Rd. The Norton-based furniture retailer plans to open a superstore at the site and will convert its 12,000-sf Weymouth store into a clearance center.

BOSTON-The director of real estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peter Lewis, is signing on to become the managing director at Tuckerbrook Alternative Investments LP. The locally based investment management firm was formed this year.

PEABODY, MA-Orthopaedic Specialty Center nails $10.6 million in permanent financing. The 46,581-sf, class A, medical office and surgery center, which is fully leased, is one of the first of its kind to open in the state.