GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Clarion Buys 101 Arch St for $120M

BOSTON-A New York investment group has agreed to buy 101 Arch St., a 21-story, 420,000-sf office tower in the Financial District in a deal valued at more than $120 million. Real Estate sources tell GlobeSt.com that Clarion Partners will close on the property, which is currently owned by an investment arm of CB Richard Ellis, by the end of the year. The sale should net CBRE Investors more than $30 million, according to a source familiar with the deal.

Neither CB Richard Ellis nor Clarion Partners would comment on the pending Arch Street acquisition when contacted by GlobeSt.com. The Art Deco-style building, whose tenants include the Pro Mutual Group, Robert Half Technology and several legal firms, is about 75% leased but has several leases expiring at the end of the year. Built in 1988, the building also has first floor retail space along with 52 indoor parking spaces.

Headquartered in Los Angles-based CBRE Investors acquired the property from Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in 2002 as part of a portfolio buy totaling $240 million. When it was placed on the market in early September, one source expected the building to sell for between $148 million and $190 million.

The Arch Street building sale marks one of the highest prices paid for an office property in Boston this year. In June, the Estate of James Campbell paid $123 million for a 21-story, 275,000 sf tower at 50 Milk St. Another high-profile sale was the acquisition of Fan Pier, which sold in August for a reported $115 million to a partnership comprised of developer Joseph Fallon and the Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Co.