PUBLICATION: REAL ASSETS IPE

US real estate investment firm DivcoWest has participated in an MSD Partners-led $1bn (€1.02) refinancing of an office tower owned by Fortis Property.

DivcoWest said it has provided a floating rate, senior mezzanine loan to Fortis Property as part of the refinancing of the 36-storey One Lincoln tower in Boston.

The asset, formerly known as State Street Financial Center, was built in 2003.

The proceeds from the refinancing will be used to retire existing debt as well as to make more than $200m in major capital improvements to the building and tenant suites.

The building has private equity Harbourvest Partners as its new anchor tenant.

DivcoWest, formed in 1993, has acquired, owned and managed more than 59m Sqft of commercial space but it also invests selectively in floating rate debt opportunities in office, life science, R&D, retail, industrial and multifamily asset classes in the US. READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: THE DAILY JOURNAL

PUBLICATION: AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN 

A developer is set to start work on a seven-story office building that will rise on South Lamar Boulevard just south of Lady Bird Lake.

Demolition has begun on a one-story former Schlotzsky’s restaurant on the property, and construction of the office building, called Zilker Point, will follow. The 1.26-acre site, at 218 S. Lamar Blvd., is just south of downtown Austin and next to Zach Theatre.

The developer, Austin-based Generational Commercial Properties, led by founder Joe Llamas, has obtained a $124 million construction loan from New York-based MSD Capital. MSD Capital is a private investment firm that manages the assets of Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and his family.

When it is completed in two years, Zilker Point will have 192,00 square feet of office space, 15,000 square feet of retail space and amenities on the ground floor, and 635 parking spaces. Designed by the architecture firm of Runa Workshop, the office project will have a tenant fitness center, a rooftop terrace and a community art gallery.

Generational Commercial Properties is partnering on the project with San Francisco-based DivcoWest. Generational Commercial Properties also developed 801 Barton Springs, a midrise building on Barton Springs Road across from the Palmer Events Center.

Work is starting on Zilker Point as the Austin-area office market continues rebounding from the COVID-induced slump and benefiting from growth in its technology sector by companies including Google, Indeed, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Tesla and Oracle.

In the part of town where Zilker Point will rise, “demand has been strong for Class A (top-tier) office space in neighborhoods south of the river on a consistent basis,” said Matt Frizzell, executive director in Austin at Cushman and Wakefield, a global commercial real estate services firm… READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EXECUTIVE

TIAA provided the loan for the LEED Gold-certified building.

After a year of ownership, DivcoWest has secured a $103 million financing package for Bouldin Creek, a LEED Gold-certified office building totaling 167,130 square feet in Austin. TIAA provided the variable interest rate loan, Travis County records show.

In the first half of 2022, 79 office properties totaling nearly 4.4 million square feet across Greater Austin received more than $4.4 billion in the form of acquisition loans or refinancing, CommercialEdge data shows.

Earlier this year, DivcoWest also landed $145 million to refinance a 24-story office high-rise in Glendale, Calif. CBRE arranged the five-year loan originated by Deutsche Bank, which retired a $120 million loan provided by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co.

Bouldin Creek came online in 2021 at 2043 S. Lamar Blvd. The Class A, five-story property features floorplates that average 50,000 square feet, 2,500 square feet of retail space and a parking ratio of 3.9 spaces per 1,000 square feet, CommercialEdge data shows.

Designed by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and Studio8 Architects, Bouldin Creek includes outdoor terraces, a rooftop deck, a fitness center with lockers and shower facilities, bike storage and electric vehicle charging stations. The multi-tenant property also encompasses more than 2 acres of shaded green space with open-air workspaces, walking trails and a creek.

The boutique office building is within 2 miles of Interstate 35 and less than 3 miles from downtown Austin. The Republic, a 48-story office tower developed by DivcoWest, Lincoln Property Co. and Phoenix Property Co., and 6th & Guadalupe, a 66-story mixed-use tower developed by DivcoWest, Lincoln Property Co. and Kairoi Residential, are both within a 3-mile radius of the property…READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: THE REAL DEAL 

Landlords of the iconic Silicon Valley office strip rethink strategies in remote-work era.

There are only a handful of streets across the U.S. that are synonymous with entire industries. Wall Street and finance. Madison Avenue and advertising. K Street and politics. In Menlo Park, California, it’s Sand Hill Road and venture capital. When an upstart VC firm named Kleiner Perkins established its headquarters on the 5.6-mile stretch of Silicon Valley roadway in 1972, few could have predicted that the area would eventually become the center of the tech-funding universe.

Almost every prominent Silicon Valley company — Google, Facebook and Apple among them — has received early-stage backing from venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road. Wikipedia lists almost 50 VC firms along a one-mile strip connecting Stanford University with Interstate 280, including industry leaders such as Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z.

In a way, the area has beaten the odds to become one of the world’s most expensive office submarkets. Its building base is about 1.2 million square feet of mainly low-rise, woody walk-ups, most of them built in the 1970s and ’80s and situated between trees, rosemary plants and parking lots… READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: GLOBE NEWSWIRE

RESTON, Va., Aug. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Comstock Holding Companies, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHCI) (“Comstock”) and DivcoWest announced today two new leases at the Hartford Building, located in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. Greystar, a leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality rental housing properties, will occupy 10,166 sq. ft., and DFS Construction, an Arlington-based construction company, has leased 11,869 sq ft.

“We are thrilled to join the Hartford Building and the larger Clarendon and Courthouse community,” said John Clarkson, Managing Director for Greystar. “As a local developer, investor, and manager, we greatly value the area’s access to transportation, amenities, and great schools and the building’s high quality professional experience. We look forward to maintaining our long-term presence in Northern Virginia as a tenant in the Hartford.”

Comstock acquired the Hartford building in 2019 in a joint venture with Comstock Partners, LC, an affiliated private company, and DivcoWest, a vertically integrated investment firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The 9-story, Class-A building is located at 3101 Wilson Blvd., adjacent to the Clarendon Station on Metro’s Orange Line in Arlington, Virginia. The 211,450 square foot office building with street-level retail is currently 88%+ leased to multiple high-quality tenants.

“We are extremely excited for our expansion in Clarendon to the Hartford building,” said Robert DiGiovanni, Principal, DFS Construction. “Our longstanding relationship with Comstock Companies and DivcoWest made this trophy building an easy choice for our new offices.”

The Hartford Building is situated in the heart of Clarendon’s transit-oriented and mixed-use, office and retail corridor that features Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Sephora, along with a variety of local restaurants such as Green Pig Bistro, Ambar, Bakeshop, and CIRCA at Clarendon. East Coast Coffee & Wine recently opened in the Hartford Building, further increasing dining options in the vibrant Clarendon submarket and providing an additional in-building amenity.

Speaking on behalf of the joint venture, Timothy J. Steffan, Chief Operating Officer for Comstock, said, “We are delighted to welcome Greystar and DFS Construction to the Hartford Building. These leases represent significant growth in our office leasing at the property, which continues to attract quality tenants.”

There is an ongoing renovation and enhancement program for the Hartford Building that includes the build out of a shared conference center along with other common area enhancements slated for completion in 2023. The Hartford Building and its commercial parking garage are managed by Comstock’s Commercial Management and ParkX Management teams… READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: SANOFI

• 2,500 Sanofi Massachusetts-based employees come together in a shared space to improve collaboration while growing our science-centered, patient-focused culture
• Single integrated campus supports Play to Win strategy to focus on growth, lead with innovation, accelerate efficiencies, and reinvent the way we work

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Sanofi announces the opening of the company’s new campus at Cambridge Crossing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Governor Charlie Baker and Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui plan to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony in addition to Sanofi’s CEO Paul Hudson and Executive Committee members, Global Head of Research and Development John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., and Global Head of Specialty Care Bill Sibold, for the official opening of one of the company’s largest U.S. sites. The campus is designed to enhance collaboration between R&D, Medical, and the Specialty Care business unit, among others, to accelerate the development of transformative treatments for patients.

Bill Sibold
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Specialty Care, Sanofi
“Cambridge has been our home for many years. Opening our new facility in Cambridge Crossing is allowing us to bring together our employees across Massachusetts under one roof – which is an important step in facilitating the kind of collaboration needed to fulfill our purpose of chasing the miracles of science to improve people’s lives.”

Sanofi at Cambridge Crossing consists of two buildings, both U.S. Green Building Council LEED^® Gold Certified, totaling 900,000 square feet and located at 450 Water Street and 350 Water Street. The campus incorporates state–of–the–art environmental features, including automated light dimming, CO₂ sensors, and advanced heating/cooling systems, among others, to use energy and resources efficiently and to provide a healthy workspace for employees. WaterSense fixtures will harvest rainwater and create up to 60 percent water efficiency, from the EPA baseline, by using rainwater harvesting.

John Reed, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research and Development, Sanofi
“We have built an unparalleled facility for our R&D community in Cambridge with a focus on ultra-modern laboratories in close proximity to our scientific and commercial colleagues. Located in the heart of an innovation ecosystem, our new site will serve as an open space to connect our experts with key partners, including top academic research institutions and hospitals, with the goal of urgently meeting patient needs through the tireless advance of science.”

Over the past 20 years, Sanofi has contributed to sustainable development of communities and, with the opening of Cambridge Crossing, we will be broadening our commitment to Just A Start, a Cambridge-based Economic Mobility Hub. For more than 50 years, Just A Start has been servicing the local community by creating access to stable housing and sustainable careers. Through the organization’s Campaign for Rindge Commons, tuition-free educational programs are offered, including a Biomedical Careers Program to foster equal opportunities in the thriving Massachusetts biopharmaceutical economy.

Charlie Baker
Massachusetts Governor
“Massachusetts is home to a thriving health care and life sciences ecosystem and Sanofi is a crucial part of the exciting innovation and progress happening here in the Commonwealth. We are thrilled to congratulate Sanofi on the opening of this new campus, which marks a big step forward in creating a vibrant and sustainable workforce that continues to evolve with our community.” 

Sanofi has built an unparalleled experience in the center of Massachusetts’ innovation “hotspot,” and the company looks forward to retaining and attracting talent and forming new partnerships to make a difference in the surrounding community and for patients around the world.

To explore career opportunities at Sanofi, please visit www.sanofi.com/en/careers.

About Sanofi
We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Our team, across some 100 countries, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.

PUBLICATION: BON APPETIT MANAGEMENT 

Stunning indoor-outdoor dining spaces and creative California cuisine are on the menu at DivcoWest’s dynamic Sand Hill Collection.

San Francisco-based DivcoWest, together with its partners, is celebrating the opening of Sand Hill Kitchen, a brand-new regionally inspired dining concept located within The Quad at Sand Hill Collection (SHC) in Menlo Park. The restaurant pairs an inventive menu featuring sustainable and seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients with bright, modern design and ample outdoor dining space. It’s the newest addition to Sand Hill Collection’s vibrant ecosystem of world-class offices, activated open spaces, and standout amenities along a coveted stretch of Sand Hill Road.

Situated among rolling, oak-studded hills overlooking Stanford University and the surrounding valley, Sand Hill Kitchen’s airy interior is adorned with lush greenery and modern California ranch-style décor thoughtfully designed to complement the site’s iconic architecture and seamlessly connect with the adjoining outdoor atrium. To start, the full-service restaurant will welcome the public for breakfast and lunch, offering indoor and outdoor seated dining and a grab-and-go counter, with plans for liquor service and a dedicated happy hour menu in the near future.

“We didn’t decide on the word ‘kitchen’ by accident,” said Benjamin Elder, Managing Director at DivcoWest. “We envisioned the space as an extension of this most important place in one’s home, a first and last stop of the day in the heart of the campus where the community can grab a quick cup of coffee, enjoy a casual business lunch with colleagues, or come together to laugh, debate, and pitch ideas.” Sand Hill Kitchen is part and parcel of DivcoWest’s overall vision for Sand Hill Collection – creating places that bring people together and foster wellness in all its forms, where life and work can be effortlessly integrated and mutually fulfilling.

“We’ve taken great care in curating an experience that aligns with what our Sand Hill Collection members and Menlo Park neighbors are looking for,” said Elder. “Sand Hill Road has a long history as a place for Silicon Valley innovators to gather and collaborate. We’re thrilled to build upon that legacy and offer a new place of connection, relaxation, and inspiration.”

To help bring this concept to life, DivcoWest has tapped award-winning food service partner, Bon Appétit Management Company (www.bamco.com), and placed Executive Chef Nicolai Tuban at the helm. “Sand Hill Kitchen is all about celebrating the Northern California lifestyle and offering a fresh perspective on farm-to-table cuisine, starting with the ingredients,” said Tuban. “In addition to featuring local produce, Sand Hill Kitchen will serve humanely raised meat, certified cage-free shell eggs and responsibly sourced fish. Further, we’re looking at ways to reduce food waste and trim transportation, including a planned on-site garden to provide hyperlocal harvest and a peaceful space for our guests to explore.”

The menu will feature wholesome salads, sandwiches, and entrées, including elevated classics and inventive new dishes like:

Bodega sandwich with local farm egg, cheddar, arugula, herb aioli & house-made miso pork sausage

Greek yogurt parfait with house-made maple granola, berries, local honey & bee pollen

 Brined Chicken Paillard with crumbed Mary’s chicken breast, caper aioli, frisee, & meyer lemon
 
Thai salad with herb mix, carrot, green papaya, cucumber, candied cashew, & sweet chili vinaigrette

Grilled wild-caught salmon with blistered peppers, toasted farro, parsley, lemon & salsa verde

Grass-fed beef burger with American cheese, house dressing, konbu pickle, shaved onion & bibb lettuce

Sand Hill Kitchen is located within The Quad at Sand Hill Collection, 2400 Sand Hill Road, Suite 203 Menlo Park, California and is currently open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 2:00 p.m.

To learn more, visit thesandhillkitchen.com or follow along on Instagram @thesandhillkitchen.

High-resolution imagery is available here. Credit for all photos: Michelle K. Min.

PUBLICATION: THE REGISTRY 

 LCOR, a fully integrated real estate investment, development, and management firm and DivcoWest, a national and vertically integrated, real estate investment firm today announced the launch of leasing at Park 151, a highly amenitized, 20-story, 468-unit, mixed-income residential property located at 151 North First Street in East Cambridge, MA in the heart of the new Cambridge Crossing neighborhood.

With an expected completion date of September 2022, Park 151 will be comprised of 468 residences ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom apartments, inclusive of 392 at market-rate, 22 penthouse homes and affordable units with an additional 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The building additionally includes in-unit washers and dryers, panelized appliances with LED downlighting throughout, an outdoor pool and living room, inclusive of a TV and lounge area, grilling spaces, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor yoga spaces, a sunset terrace, co-working and micro-office spaces and ample parking and bike storage.

Additionally, Park 151 benefits from its proximity to two MBTA lines with the new Lechmere green line station one minute away and the Community College Orange line just a quick 7-minute walk. Right outside the front door, cafes, restaurants, and a brewery connect residents to the community through local flavors and restauranteurs.11 acres of activated open space sits adjacent to the residence, providing unmatched connectivity and the ability to bring the indoors out. The open spaces at CX feature a central 5-acre common with a waterway where concerts and fitness classes are held, outdoor seating in the Picnic Grove and Maria Baldwin Park, and a recently opened dog park.

“As one of the country’s most desirable submarkets, inclusive of world-class academic institutions and leading technology and life sciences companies, Park 151 serves as a prime housing option for the existing base of top talent, as well as the influx that this new neighborhood will bring,” said David Sigman, Executive Vice President and Principal at LCOR. “We’re excited to officially deliver these premier residences to the community alongside our partner DivcoWest and look forward to welcoming future residents to their new home at Park 151.”

“Park 151 carries the Cambridge Crossing brand centered around innovation, connectivity, and health and wellness, and we are thrilled to offer a place that focuses on creating holistic experiences for today’s forward-thinking residences,” said DivcoWest Senior Development Executive John Weigel. “Our team is proud to have collaborated with LCOR to deliver this state-of-the-art residential building that combines superior location, unique amenities, and modern and distinctive units.”

Park 151’s neighborhood, Cambridge Crossing, is located at the intersection of Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville, and is part of Kendall Square, one of the most innovative square miles in the country. As one of the most sought-after life science, research, and technology markets (inclusive of Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb, Google, and Amazon) and the nation’s leading academic institutions such as Harvard and MIT, Cambridge boasts intellectual work and education avenues, while simultaneously providing top-tier bars, restaurants, arts and cultural offerings. Cambridge Crossing is centrally located with immediate access to multiple modes of transportation including two MBTA stations, a bus station hub, public & private shuttle services, shared bicycle stations, and various cycle and walking paths.

Park 151 is a joint venture between LCOR and DivcoWest and is part of the 43-acre and 4.5 million square-foot Cambridge Crossing master development plan by DivcoWest. The partnership is dedicated to bringing top quality residential to this dynamic new neighborhood. Cambridge Crossing includes commercial, residential, retail and an abundance of open green spaces. Park 151 will be a collaborative product of LCOR’s residential and management expertise, and DivcoWest’s development experience within the local Boston/Cambridge market.

Potential residents can schedule a visit to the Park 151 marketing suite to tour the model units and reserve units for fall occupancy. For more information and to apply, please visit www.park151.com. READ MORE.

PUBLICATION: THE REGISTRY 

With interest in life science space showing little signs of abating across the Bay Area, a pair of Bay Area developers and investors have unveiled a plan to add roughly 1.46 million square feet of additional space along the shoreline in the Peninsula city of Burlingame. San Francisco-based DivcoWest and partner, Burlingame-based Woodstock, introduced to the city last week its plans to develop Peninsula Crossing, a five-building project that looks to transform the presently underutilized 12 acres of space located at 1200 – 1340 Bayshore Highway. The property is now occupied by a collection of small, low-rise buildings, which are home to a Holiday Inn Express, Max’s of Burlingame and Caribbean Gardens, among other smaller enterprises. The location will be transformed by a collection of 200-feet tall structures that will reshape this portion of Burlingame and connect the quarter-mile gap in the Bay Trail while providing a visually stunning setting along the San Francisco Bay.

Burlingame City Council in a joint session with its Planning Commission reviewed the first-look plans with DivcoWest over the weekend on April 23rd, and it provided a glimpse of what the project may encompass. This was not a meeting where approvals and recommendations were considered; it was a meeting focused on the vision of the project, which provided a setting for the members of the city staff and leadership to ask questions and clarify project goals with the development team.

DivcoWest was represented at the meeting by Virginia Calkins, a senior development manager with the firm, who provided a detailed overview of the project and its goals.

“We wanted to find in the Bay Area a location for [an ambitious] bioscience development,” said Calkins. “Our goal for Peninsula Crossing is to set a standard for development in Burlingame and the broader Peninsula region. We plan to deliver a broad range of benefits to the city and the community ranging from the completion of the Bay Trail to economic development, from sea-level rise protection to placemaking.”

The majority of the presentation by the development team focused on this aspect of the project: The team highlighted the benefits of connecting a network of parks with the Bay Trail with the four-acre open space park at Peninsula Crossing and other recreational spaces along the Bay. This would be enhanced by public spaces where food trucks could gather, small outdoor events could be organized and a 5,000 square-foot public cafe space in one of the buildings. READ MORE.