WELLESLEY, MA-A privately held commercial real estate firm from South Carolina has put down $21.45 million to take ownership of a 42,237-sf retail and office landmark. The transaction meant a nearly $10-million gain for the seller and bought the new owner a 90% leased property.

The two-building mixed use site known as Talbots at Wellesley was acquired by Columbia, SC-based Edens & Avant from BlackRock Realty Advisors of Miami and the Washington, DC-based Madison Marquette. The sellers purchased the property from Starwood Urban Retail in 2004 for $11.6 million, according to records on file with the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds.

Comprised of two adjacent buildings at 48-50 Central St. and 47 Church St., the acquisition is described by Geoff Millerd with Cushman & Wakefield's Boston office, as "widely recognized as a bullet-proof asset in an absolutely bullet-proof location," because of its strong placement on the main commercial thoroughfare in Wellesley Center. "Talbots at Wellesley is widely regarded as one of Wellesley Center's most notable commercial landmarks and enjoys a rare corner identity."

The main building at 48-50 Central St. is comprised of a 26,477-sf. The two-story building was constructed in 1940 and renovated in 2001. It is primarily leased Talbots Inc., which occupies about 17,000 sf on the building's ground floor.

The second building at 45 Church St. is a 15,760 sf, three-story retail and office building that was constructed in 1962 and retrofitted in 2001. About 10,000 sf of the property is equally divided between the Rugged Bear, a children's clothing store, and the Paper Source, a card and stationary store. Millerd along with Cushman & Wakefield's Capital Markets Group of Robert E. Griffin Jr., and Edward C. Maher Jr. exclusively represented the seller and procured the buyer.