Andover's Minuteman Park To Start Bidding at $230M

"It's a great time to be selling when you have a phenomenal asset like this and there is a lot of capital out there," Cushman & Wakefield executive director Marci Loeber tells GlobeSt.com. She expects that demand will translate into one of the highest priced office sales in the Boston area for Minuteman Park, a property she terms "one of the nicest suburban office parks in the area." Although no firm closing date on bids has been set, Loeber says she expects a number of bidders will be drawn by the park's 95% occupancy rate and its long term leases, 61% of which extend to beyond 2014.

"We keep getting astounded by the prices for quality property," David Begelfer, chief executive officer of the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. Just last week, CB Richard Ellis Investors put 101 Arch St, a 21-story, 407,000 sf office tower on the market in a sale that is expected to garner offers of between $125 million and $190 million, according to industry sources. Last month, Wells Real Estate Fund Inc. paid $92.5 million for the Nashoba Corporate Center in Westford and another office complex went for $54 million when Equity Office Properties Trust acquired 25 Mall Rd. in Burlington.

Begelfer says it's unlikely that prices on quality properties will drop anytime soon. "There is just a strong demand out there for investment property. It's a very competitive market." He says Boston's location and its highly educated labor market has helped fuel investor demand in the region.

Those numbers can only add to the park's allure for investors seeking high CAP rates at a time when the interest rates are one of their lowest points in years. "Clearly a market that is so constrained for growth, with barriers to entry that are so great and a strong reputation for long-term growth" makes Boston an investor's dream, notes Begelfer.