BOSTON– The Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) announced the winners of the 2015 CBA Achievement Awards at its annual awards gala on March 3 at the InterContinental Boston. The awards recognize the Greater Boston area’s most significant real estate deals of 2015 and honor local industry professionals who have distinguished themselves among their peers.
At the awards gala, Bill Barrack, leader of the New England Leasing Group at JLL, was presented with CBA’s top honor, the Broker of the Year Leadership Award. Deal of the Year Awards were presented for Office (Boston, Greater Cambridge and Suburban), Retail, Industrial, Life Science and Most Creative deals, as well as the Investment Sale of the Year. A new Community Impact Award was added this year, recognizing a transaction that had a significantly positive effect on the community. And in addition to Broker of the Year, Special Recognition Awards were presented for the Landlord, Rising Star, and Collaborating Professional of the Year.
2015 Deal of the Year Winners are:
Office – Boston: BNY Mellon
After an exhaustive review of all its Class A office options in Boston, BNY Mellon opted to stay at its long-time home at One Boston Place after reaching a creative lease agreement with owners TIAA-CREF and Ivanhoe Cambridge. The resulting 15-year lease extension of approximately 250,000 square feet made BNY Mellon’s commitment to stay at One Boston Place the largest office lease deal in the city of Boston in 2015. TIAA-CREF and Ivanhoe Cambridge were represented by CBRE/New England; BNY Mellon Center at One Boston Place was represented by JLL.
Office – Greater Cambridge: Sanofi/Genzyme
Sanofi/Genzyme signed a new build-to-suit lease with Alexandria Real Estate Equities for 263,000 square feet at 50 Binney Street in Cambridge’s bustling Kendall Square area. The agreement was the largest office deal in the first quarter of 2015. The new 10-story building at 50 Binney Street is expected to host up to 1,300 Sanofi/Genzyme employees. Alexandria Real Estate Equities was represented by CBRE/New England; Sanofi/Genzyme was represented by JM Zell.
Office – Suburban: EMD Millipore, Burlington, MA
EMD Millipore signed a 280,000-square-foot build-to-suit lease at Burlington Summit, an office park at 400 Wheeler Road in Burlington. Before signing EMD Millipore to a 15-year lease agreement, the Gutierrez Company faced a number of challenges, including buying the building site from the state Department of Transportation and coming up with a design for a new facility that could accommodate both offices and life-science functions. The Gutierrez Company was represented by Cushman & Wakefield; EMD Millipore was represented by JLL.
Retail: Primark, Boston, MA
Dublin-based Primark’s opening of 112,000 square feet of prime retail space at the iconic Burnham Building in Downtown Crossing was the most high-profile retail deal of the year in Boston. The landmark building’s owner, Millennium Partners, spent $120 million restoring and renovating the
220,000-square-foot structure at 10 Summer Street in the heart of Downtown Crossing. Millennium Partners and Primark were both represented by Cushman & Wakefield.
Industrial: Martignetti’s Warehouse, Taunton, MA
Martignetti Companies closed on an $11.5 million purchase of 115 acres in the Myles Standish Industrial Park in Taunton, where the wine and spirits distributor plans to invest $100 million in a new state-of-the art, 680,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution facility. After its completion in late 2016, Martignetti’s new complex will house 800 employees and have room for expansion of up to 1.3 million square feet. Taunton Development/MassDevelopment Corporation was represented by NAI Hunneman; Martignetti was represented by CBRE/New England.
Life Science: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals signed a lease for 295,030 square feet at 675 West Kendall in Cambridge, making the transaction the largest laboratory lease in Greater Boston in 2015. Brokered by Transwestern/RBJ, the 675 West Kendall deal between Alnylam and owner BioMed Realty Trust was an off-market transaction for property now fully subleased out through April 2018.
Most Creative: Boston Landing, Brighton, MA
The Boston Bruins signed a 25,000-square-foot lease at a planned 225,000-square-foot facility at 80 Guest Street in Brighton, now being built by NB Development Group and HYM Investments. The agreement provides the Bruins with 300 hours of ice time at the Warrior Rink, also located at 80 Guest Street and part of the emerging 1.76 million-square-foot Boston Landing project that includes New Balance’s new headquarters. NB Development Group and HYM Investments were represented by Transwestern/RBJ; the Boston Bruins were represented by The Dartmouth Company.
Investment Sale: 222 Berkeley Street & 500 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
The $1.29 billion sale last year of two iconic and interconnected Back Bay towers, 222 Berkeley Street and 500 Boylston Street, earned a place in the record books as the largest single-asset investment sale in the history of Boston. Totaling 1.25 million square feet, the deal fetched just over $1,000 per square foot. The seller, Blackstone Group LLP and Equity Office Properties, was represented by Eastdil Secured, which also found the buyer, Oxford Properties and JP Morgan.
Community Impact: Amazon Distribution Facility, Fall River, MA
In November, Amazon.com Inc., the huge online retailer, bought 77.3 acres in the SouthCoast Life Science & Technology Park in Fall River for $3.78 million from the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, where it plans to build a 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center that’s expected to create a minimum 500 full-time jobs and serve as a major boost for a Gateway City suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. The Fall River Redevelopment Authority was represented by NAI Hunneman.
2015 Special Recognition Awards Winners are:
Broker of the Year: Bill Barrack – JLL
As the leader of JLL’s New England Leasing Group, Bill Barrack has been involved in some of the biggest commercial real estate deals in Boston. In 2015, Barrack, along with other JLL team members, represented BNY Mellon in its ultimate decision to sign a 15-year lease extension of approximately 250,000 square feet at One Boston Place, making the transaction one of the largest lease deals in the city of Boston last year. Barrack took part in other major real estate transactions last year involving prominent players such as Prince Lobel Tye LLP and John Hancock Financial.
Landlord of the Year: Samuels & Associates
Known for its recent pioneering work in the Fenway, Samuels & Associates opened its new mixed-use office, residential and retail Van Ness complex last year at 1325 Boylston Street, with its retail component anchored by a flagship 170,000-square-foot City Target and with the remaining tens of thousands of square feet dedicated to a mix of specialty shops and restaurants. The firm also broke ground last year on Pierce Boston, another mixed-use project at 188 Brookline Avenue that will include condos, residential rentals and retail.
Rising Star of the Year: Jordan Yarboro – JLL
Since joining JLL in 2012, Jordan Yarboro, 28, has served as a senior research analyst, brokerage operations associate, and associate broker on JLL’s North Suburban Leasing team covering the Route 128 area from Lexington to Danvers. In 2015, Jordan was involved in some of the year’s largest deals, such as Microsoft’s move from Cambridge to 54,000 square feet of leased space at 5/15 Wayside Road in Burlington.
Collaborating Professional of the Year: J. Calnan & Associates
Since its founding in 1996, J. Calnan & Associates Inc. has been involved in numerous high-profile building projects across the region, providing construction management and preconstruction services to clients in the academic, corporate, health care, science and technology, and other sectors. Most recently, the company has worked on the new US headquarters for Schneider Electric in Andover, the ongoing redevelopment of the Marlborough Hills complex for Atlantic Management in Marlborough, and on continued work for Constant Contact in Waltham.
Founded in 1991, the Commercial Brokers Association represents over 400 members in the commercial brokerage community throughout Massachusetts that comprise over 4,000 companies. CBA is deeply committed to providing relevant educational programs, promoting professionalism and cooperation, and creating an atmosphere where knowledge and ideas are easily exchanged.
