BEDFORD, MA—Longfellow Real Estate Partners has increased its science and technology portfolio in the Greater Boston region with the purchase of the One Patriots Park building here. The firm acquired the building for $11.3 million, or $78 per square foot from SPI-Trust, according to public records.

The firm also recently purchased the 806,000-square-foot Keystone Technology Park in the Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, NC, for  $117.7 million. The Boston-based firm with the two acquisitions now has a science and technology portfolio totaling 1.4 million square feet in Greater Boston and North Carolina.

Jamie Peschel, managing partner of Longfellow Real Estate Partners, tells Globest.com that the firm plans an extensive renovation of the 144,230-square-foot One Patriots Park building that will convert the property into a Class A life sciences building. While he would not divulge the cost of the renovation project, he says that Longfellow has plans for improvements to the exterior, including the façade and roof, as well as the interior and infrastructure of the building. He says tenants of up to 100,000 square feet can take occupancy by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Currently two tenants occupy the building—N2 Biomedical occupies approximately 25,000 square feet at the building and Spire Corp., which has signage on the building, has notified Longfellow that it plans to vacate its space at its lease termination in February 2016.

Transwestern | RBJ has been retained as the leasing agent for the property at 40-42 Wiggins Ave. Chris Skeffington, John Wilson, Jon Varholak and Roy Sandeman of Transwestern | RBJ negotiated the sale of the property and sourced the buyer.

“Longfellow has made an excellent acquisition, gaining a building that can be transformed into a much-needed suburban laboratory facility,” states Transwestern's Skeffington. “The building has a tremendous amount of potential with companies seeking a cost-effective laboratory alternative outside of Cambridge.”

Peschel says that Longfellow, which also has an office in Durham, NC, is actively looking to further increase its science and technology real estate portfolio both in Greater Boston and in North Carolina.

“Longfellow Real Estate Partners is very excited about the prospects for the science and technology ecosystems in both the Greater Boston and Cambridge markets and the Research Triangle,” he says. “We feel strongly that the pace of scientific innovation will continue to generate demand from outstanding companies within the sector.”

Its current portfolio in the Greater Boston area includes 1030 Mass Ave in Cambridge, the closest private science and technology building to Harvard University, which is 100% leased. The firm recently completed renovations at the 80,000-square-foot building.

In North Carolina, Duke University is the firm's largest tenant, and anchors its “Durham Innovation District” a planned 1.7-million-square-foot research and business hub that will also include residential and retail space. Last year, Longfellow opened the first building in the district, called the Carmichael Building, which is a 115,000-square-foot building that is fully leased to Duke University.