ING Clarion vice president Deke Schultze tells GlobeSt.com that the asset was a strong buy for the company, which saw a value-added opportunity in the deal.

"In general, we like the prospects of the Boston office market," says Schultze, noting that the property, with its skyline and harbor views of Boston, offers tremendous lease-up potential once State Street's lease expires. The buyer also plans to convert the buildings ground level space to retail when the tenant relocates, he says.

The building, constructed in 1984 for State Street Bank and occupied ever since by the financial institution, is located off the Southeast Expressway just miles from Downtown Boston and within walking distance of a rapid transit station.

The asset is one of several owned by ING Clarion in the Boston Market. In September, the New York-based company made its first Bay State apartment buy since 1999 when it paid $28.6 million for a 128-unit, fully leased apartment community in Lexington known as Katahdin Woods. The firm also owns 101 Arch St., a 21-story, 411,000-sf office building, also in Boston; and the Waltham Woods Corporate Center.

Jim McCaffrey, with Trammel Crow Co.'s Boston office handled the 200 Newport Ave. sale as the seller's representative. He also procured the buyer.