GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Saracen Puts 805,000-SF Portfolio Up for Sale

Ed Maher, with Cushman & Wakefield's Boston office, says the sell-off represents the only portfolio of Route 128 properties on the market. "They are some of the best located buildings on the market," says Maher. "They were built in the 1980s, not only in the Route 128 corridor but actually on Route 128."

Interested buyers have already expressed interest in the portfolio even though calls for offers are not due until Jan. 26, Robert Griffin, also with Cushman & Wakefield, tells GlobeSt.com. The buildings, which range in size from 47,587 sf to 268,769 sf and are between two and eight stories, include Norfolk Place, a three-story office in Dedham; 7-57 Wells Ave., an 88,000-sf, three-story building at the Wells Avenue Office Park in Newton; and a 160,000-sf landmark building known as Dedham Place. Also up for grabs is the three-building Stonybrook Office Park, located at the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 128 interchange in Waltham and the Wells Center, a 240,000-sf office in Newton.

Griffin says Saracen, which put the properties on the market in a bid to take advantage of the region's hot investment market, will entertain offers for either the entire portfolio or individual buildings. "The capital markets are extraordinarily healthy and people want to take advantage of that kind of market." He notes that the seller will likely re-invest the money gained from the sale.

Saracen has spent an estimated $20 million on capital improvements in the last year. The seller also has improved lease-up rates, which are currently at 63%, but will increase to 70% with pending leases. "They've done a lot of leasing and capital improvements and have really turned the properties around," Griffin says of the buildings, all of which were constructed between 1983 and 1987.

Ted Saracen, president of Saracen Properties, declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the portfolio sale when contacted by GlobeSt.com. Griffin says he expects that all five office properties to close within 60 days after offers are accepted.