Real Deal: What companies are moving, staying or relocating?

June 22, 2011, 3:33 pm

AisleBuyer LLC, Zmags and Apperian land in Innovation District CB Richard Ellis/New England announced that five leases totaling 51,056 square feet have been facilitated at 281 and 321 Summer St. in Boston. Both buildings were purchased by Normandy in 2007 Normandy Real Estate Partners. The property at 281 Summer St., a seven-story 173,241 square foot office building, adds Space with a Soul to its tenant roster. The non-profit mission accelerator occupies 14,592 square feet. The four other deals were inked at 321 Summer St., an eight-story 93,964 square foot building. AisleBuyer LLC, the creator of mobile self-checkout software, occupies 10,813 square feet on the eighth floor; Zmags, an online publishing platform provider, is moving into 10,635 square feet on the third floor; Apperian, a mobile application management technology company, moved into 8,903 square feet on the first floor; and architecture firm isgenuity LLC will take 6,113 square feet on the fourth floor. The CBRE/NE team of Bill Crean, senior vice president/partner; Ogden White, senior vice president/partner; and Tim Howe, vice president, represented the landlord in all transactions. Space with a Soul was represented by Deb Stevens, principal of The Stevens Group. Landmark Real Estate Advisors’ Principal Eric Solem and partner Robert Elmer represented AisleBuyer LLC. Zmags was represented by Graham Allison, assistant broker, and Mark Cote, managing director and co-founder of T3 Advisors. Apperian was represented by Matt Godoff, advisor, and Karyn McFarland, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis. Boston Realty Advisors’ Adam Schneier, managing director, represented isgenuity LLC. The properties at 281 and 321 Summer Street are two historic office buildings that have been restored in South Boston’s Fort Point Channel Seaport District as part of the planned Innovation District.

Mission Hill restoration lands Harvard School Of Public Health Weston Associates has signed a long-term lease with Harvard School of Public Health for 90 Smith Street in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. Cushman & Wakefield’s Executive Director Frank Nelson and Senior Associates Michael Greeley and Joseph Pearce represented Weston Associates in the transaction. The landmark property, built in 1888, has been fully restored. Abandoned for more than five years, the structure underwent a seven month redevelopment in which all major systems were replaced, the masonry exterior was painstakingly repaired, a copper cornice and gutter was mounted, and historically appropriate windows were installed. In addition, the interior has been outfitted with a state of the art office system that has been designed to LEED standards. The 40,000 square foot building will house several administrative departments of the Harvard School of Public Health. Approximately 190 Harvard staff and administrators occupy the building.

MetraTech renews at 200 West St., Waltham McCall & Almy, a Boston-based commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm, negotiated a lease extension on behalf of MetraTech Corp., a provider of solutions that automate business processes for billing and customer care, at 200 West St., Waltham. MetraTech occupies 30,331 square feet of office space and extended their existing commitment within the Boston Properties-managed facility. Situated on a 14.6-acre site, this four-story multi-tenant Class A office building features a two-story lobby with a grand stair and approximately 1,200 surface and structured parking spaces. It is located directly adjacent to the Winter Street interchange of Route 128 and a short distance from both Route 2 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. McCall & Almy is a Boston-based commercial brokerage firm. Application Security moves HQ from Bedford to Burlington NAI Hunneman has brokered a 7,483-square-foot new office lease on behalf of Application Security Inc. at 154 Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington. Application Security, a company focused on database security, risk, and compliance solutions for the enterprise is headquartered in New York City, and is relocating its northeast regional offices from Bedford. Northwest Park is located along the Middlesex Turnpike across from the Burlington Mall, with easy access to/from Routes 3 and 128. On-site amenities include a breakfast/lunch cafe offering an indoor/outdoor sit-down area, catering and delivery, childcare center, and an MBTA bus stop for direct service to the Alewife Red Line station. NAI Hunneman’s Suburban Leasing Group, which handled the Application Security deal, includes James Boudrot, Brendan Daly, Evan Gallagher, Stephen James and Michael McCarthy. Mitsubishi Labs commits to long-term lease in Cambridge Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, the North American R&D subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Electric Co., has committed to a long term lease at 201 Broadway in Cambridge for 35,000 square feet. Having first occupied the building in 1991, Mitsubishi has recently re-affirmed its commitment by signing a new ten-year lease extension. After a long, organization-wide effort spanning from 1993-2003, MERL consolidated its U.S.-based laboratories into this single Cambridge location. Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Managing Director Brooks Murphy and Assistant Vice President Molly Heath from JLL’s Boston office represented MERL in the lease negotiation and Senior Vice President/Director of Leasing Duncan A.C. Gilkey of The Davis Companies represented the landlord, Broadway Hampshire Limited Partnership, which is an affiliate of Davis. Built in 1988, 201 Broadway is an eight-story 120,000-square-foot office/retail building on the corner of Broadway and Hampshire Streets in East Cambridge, three blocks from the MIT campus. The building is fully leased.

Real deal is a monthly collection of real estate transactions involving technology and life sciences companies. Tenant names appear in bold. Please send real estate news and photos to Rodney Brown at rbrown@masshightech.com.

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