Wellsford/Whitehall Group Divests of its Last Massachusetts Holding

According to records on file with the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, the property, located at 117 Kendrick St., was purchased by Intercontinental Fund III 117 Kendrick Street LLC, part of Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., a Boston-based real estate investment and management firm. Officials from Intercontinental did not return phone calls seeking comment on the Kendrick Street acquisition. The asset, home to a number of companies including publisher Tech Target and Upromise, a student aid organization, is located on 12-acre site in one of the suburb's more bustling office submarkets.

Mark P. Cantaluppi, with Wellsford Real Properties' headquarters in New York City, tells GlobeSt.com that the sale is part of a divesture action by the joint venture to rid it's portfolio of its real estate holdings. The venture picked up the property in 1998 from the Polaroid Corp. for nearly $28.4 million, records show. It expects to report a gain of approximately $7 million on the transaction with approximately $23 million of its net proceeds going to pay off existing debt.

Cantalunni says the venture has been selling off most its Massachusetts and New Jersey properties in order to raise capital. "We've been trying to, where possible, harvest cash and generate profits," he said, adding that the venture also plans to sell off its three remaining New Jersey properties by the end of this year. One of those properties, an office building, is currently under contract, he says.

The divestiture will effectively end Wellsford/Whitehall's foray into the Massachusetts and New Jersey Real Estate markets. In January, the joint venture completed the sale of a seven property New Jersey portfolio totaling 1.23 million sf for $72 million with the proceeds used to retire existing debt. That same month, the venture also sold five CVS stores for $17.1 million, with proceeds from the sale going to working capital.