BOSTON– Jamestown, real estate investment and management company, announced the sale of a 50% stake in Boston’s Innovation and Design Building (IDB) to Related Fund Management, marking the city’s second largest commercial real estate transaction of the year.
With a new joint venture, Jamestown and Related Fund Management, will leverage their shared experience to build on the continued success of The IDB and grow the building’s tenant base with new lab and office spaces.
“When Jamestown first acquired the building, we saw the potential for a new creative hub in Boston’s Seaport District,” said Michael Phillips, President of Jamestown. “Now, seven years later, The IDB is home to a long list of cutting-edge companies, makers, and thinkers. We look forward to our new partnership with Related Beal and leveraging our shared experiences to embark on the third phase of the property’s transformation, further expanding the ecosystem of interconnected businesses within The IDB.”
“Related Fund Management is excited to reach this agreement with Jamestown to partner on Boston’s historic Innovation and Design Building,” said Patrick Sweeney, Managing Director of Related Fund Management. “Related Beal and Jamestown have a longstanding history in the Eastern Seaport neighborhood’s life science sector and are committed to serving the strong demand we continue to see in this submarket. We look forward to collaborating on this next phase of the property, with an emphasis on enhancing and adapting the building to attract more lab tenants.”
Jamestown purchased The IDB in 2013 and has since invested more than $200 million in the revitalization of the building which now anchors Boston’s Innovation District. The building serves as a business hub for a number of creative companies including Reebok, Autodesk, life science tenants Ginkgo Bioworks and Living Proof, and the Boston Design Center. The new phase of The IDB will bring new and growing companies to Boston, helping to jump start the economy as the city recovers from COVID-19.
“Gikgo Bioworks has benefited tremendously from having offices & labs at the Innovation and Design Building,” said Ginkgo Bioworks Co-founder Barry Canton. “The environment has enabled us to grow our business, collaborate with other like-minded tenants, and create a great culture for our employees. Jamestown has done an exceptional job creating a place where people want to spend their day.”
Originally constructed by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1918, The IDB first served as a waterside storehouse for the South Boston Army Base where 50,000 people worked repairing and overhauling American ships. Today, The IDB is a 1.4 million square foot urban manufacturing hub that is home to a mix of companies including architecture and creative studios, manufacturing, research and development firms, and technology startups.
Over the last seven years, Jamestown has made enhancements to the property, including creating a street-level Promenade with a variety of dining options, event spaces, and programming. The IDB also offers a custom mobile app – backed by Boston-based tenant experience software company HqO – that helps tenants to order food from its on-site dining locations and book amenity appointments. The IDB is within proximity to five MBTA Silver Line stations, two MBTA bus routes, shuttles to the North and South stations, and two Bluebikes bike sharing stations served by the building’s access to bike racks, shower rooms, and bike repair stations.
Jamestown and Related Beal expect to begin construction on the new lab and office spaces in 2021. Newmark Knight Frank represented Jamestown in the marketing and sale of the 50% ownership stake to Related Beal.
