Nordblom Company and Rubenstein Partners to Build 235,000 SF
Class A Office Property on Prime Site in Boston’s South End
September 16, 2016 – Boston – Nordblom Company and Rubenstein Partners, L.P. are proceeding with development plans for 321 Harrison, an eight-story, approximately 230,000-square-foot, Class A office property, following last night’s vote by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approving the project. Affiliates of Rubenstein and Nordblom acquired the 321 Harrison development site, and the adjacent existing office building at 1000 Washington Street, for $75 million in January 2015.
“We’re pleased to receive BRA approval for this exciting project,” said Ogden Hunnewell, Executive Vice President and Partner of Nordblom Company. “This is an opportunity to build a great building that will continue the strong momentum we are seeing in this up-and-coming mixed use area of Boston, adding high quality space into a submarket with limited supply.”
“321 Harrison is positioned in the midst of a transforming urban neighborhood that we believe is poised for further growth,” noted Deke Schultze, Senior Vice President of Rubenstein Partners, L.P., and director of the New England region. “We plan to create headquarters-quality corporate office space in this outstanding location and tap into the increased demand we are seeing here.”
The Rubenstein/Nordblom partnership was particularly drawn to the site’s strategic location in a rapidly improving section of the downtown South End/Back Bay office submarket. 321 Harrison and 1000 Washington, which together would comprise 466,000 square feet and are planned to be connected at the lobby level under the approved development plan, are centrally located near a wide array of amenities, including abundant retail and dining opportunities. Ease of access is provided by entrance ramps to the Massachusetts Turnpike, Southeast Expressway and I-93 just a short distance away. Logan International Airport is a seven-minute drive from the site, which is also served by the MBTA’s Silver Line and offers convenient shuttle service to South Station.
Rubenstein Partners, L.P., a vertically-integrated real estate investment manager focused on value-added office property opportunities, is announcing that Lake View II and The Falls in Sanctuary Park, a 1.6 million-square-foot office park complex in the North Fulton submarket of Atlanta, have achieved LEED recertification through Arc, arcskoru.com, the new performance platform launched by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) in 2016.
Arc uses real-time data to measure sustainability performance in order to facilitate meaningful change and create greener, healthier spaces. Arc’s data-centric approach connects actions and benchmarks performance against itself and projects around it. The new sustainability platform generates a performance score by tracking building activity across five categories including energy, water, waste, transportation and human experience.
Rubenstein Partners, along with a minority equity partner, acquired Sanctuary Park in late 2016. The complex is considered the premier Class-A office park in the high-growth North Fulton submarket and comprised of nine mid-rise buildings within a 152-acre, master-planned environment. The property also offers three zoned development sites that could accommodate an additional 750,000 square feet of build-to-suit office space.
“Rubenstein Partners is thrilled to announce that Sanctuary Park features the first two commercial buildings in Georgia obtaining this highly sought-after LEED recertification,” said Taylor Smith, Regional Director of Southeast for Rubenstein Partners. “Since purchasing the property, we have implemented a number of enhancements that has solidified Sanctuary Park’s standing as the preeminent destination for tenants in the North Fulton market. But earning the certification and benchmarking in Arc has helped our facility serve as a model for other buildings throughout Atlanta and the state to reduce their resource energy usage.”
Charlie Cichetti, CEO and Co-Founder of Sustainable Investment Group (SIG), who served as a sustainability consultant for Rubenstein Partners, adds, “Both the Lake View II and Falls buildings achieved high performing scores during their LEED recertification process, which visibly demonstrates the Rubenstein Partners team’s leadership and commitment to maintaining a sustainable commercial facility.”
“Rubenstein Partners has shown tremendous green building leadership through the use of Arc,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, CEO and president, U.S. Green Building Council and GBCI. “Through Arc, Rubenstein is making data-driven decisions about the health of their building and the happiness of their occupants, while advancing their sustainability efforts.”
Rubenstein has demonstrated a history of proactively pursuing energy efficiency and green initiatives. In 2003, Rubenstein’s predecessor entity, based in Philadelphia, obtained certification for the first Energy Start commercial offices in Philadelphia.
About Sanctuary Park
The Sanctuary Park nine-building complex enjoys a secure and private park-like setting unique to the North Fulton market and is centrally located with quick and easy access to Georgia 400 via Haynes Bridge or Mansell Road along Westside Parkway. Seven of the nine existing buildings are LEED and Energy Star certified and onsite amenities include three conference centers, two full-service cafes, two state-of-the-art fitness centers, a manicured softball field and pavilion with an active softball league, two gated entrances, complimentary shuttle service to and from the North Springs MARTA station and secured building access.
About Rubenstein Partners
Rubenstein Partners, founded in September 2005, is a private real estate investment management and advisory firm with operations throughout the Eastern United States. The firm is led by its founder, David Rubenstein, and a group of senior real estate executives, and is focused on directing and managing value-added office real estate investments, primarily in markets in the Eastern United States that encompass more than two-thirds of U.S. office space inventory. Rubenstein Partners’ predecessor company, The Rubenstein Company, LP and affiliates, founded in 1969, was one of the largest private owner operators of Class A office real estate in the Mid-Atlantic, owning and operating a portfolio of assets valued at approximately $1.2 billion at the time of its disposition in 2004. Since 2005, Rubenstein Partners has, on behalf of its investors and clients, invested in more than 10 million square feet of office real estate assets throughout the Eastern United States. For more information, visit www.rubensteinpartners.com.
Funding Provided by Cambridge Savings Bank to Facilitate Redevelopment for Rebranded Asset
July 7, 2016 – Tewksbury, MA – Rubenstein Partners, L.P., (including its affiliates, “Rubenstein”), announced today the closing of a loan commitment of $28,105,000 for the Center at Innovation Drive, a 706,000 SF office, manufacturing, and warehouse complex in Tewksbury, MA, a submarket of Boston. The recently rebranded property, formerly known as 495 Business Center, is comprised of four conjoined buildings located at 200, 300, 400 and 500 Innovation Drive. Cambridge Savings Bank provided the funding.
The Center at Innovation Drive is in the process of a dramatic interior and exterior renovation and capital improvement plan, which began in August 2015 and is projected to be completed later this year. This redevelopment will transform the project that birthed Wang Laboratories, and its pioneering research of the last millennium, into a state of the art ‘creative office’ complex fostering innovation and collaboration for the current millennium. Aimed at satisfying the demands of the modern workforce, the current capital plan includes substantial site work and landscaping, the rebirth of 200 Innovation Drive from a class C flex asset into a Class A office asset and extensive core and shell upgrades to 400 Innovation Drive including a new façade, amenity center and state of the art building systems.
“We are pleased to have closed another loan transaction with Cambridge Savings Bank, one that will help facilitate the striking repositioning going on at the Center at Innovation Drive,” said Deke Schultze, Regional Director of New England for Rubenstein. “We believe there is significant potential for this redeveloped property to meet the demands of a rapidly changing workplace and be uniquely positioned to do so in the495 North submarket. The financing we have secured will help support these substantial upgrades already underway which we look forward to delivering later in the year.”
The Center at Innovation Drive campus provides a new alternative to older properties located along the I-495 belt’s office inventory and serves as an ideal option for companies seeking more efficient, collaborative and highly-amenitized space. The property also benefits from its great location providing ease of access throughout the metropolitan area, being located on I-495 only a few miles from both the Route 3 and I-93 north/south corridors.
About Rubenstein Partners
Rubenstein Partners, founded in September 2005, is a private real estate investment management and advisory firm with operations throughout the Eastern United States. The firm is led by its founder, David Rubenstein, and a group of senior real estate executives, and is focused on directing and managing value-added office real estate investments, primarily in the Eastern United States. Rubenstein Partners’ predecessor company, The Rubenstein Company, LP and affiliates, founded in 1969, was one of the largest private owner operators of Class A office real estate in the Mid-Atlantic, owning and operating a portfolio of assets valued at approximately $1.2 billion at the time of its disposition in 2004. Since 2005, Rubenstein Partners has, on behalf of its investors and clients, invested in more than 10,000,000 sq. ft. of office real estate assets throughout the Eastern United States. For more information, visit www.rubensteinpartners.com.
Brooklyn’s First New Office and Production Development in over 40 years, Developed by Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners, Achieves WiredScore’s Highest Certification
WiredScore, the company behind the world’s leading rating system for technological capacity in commercial buildings, together with developers Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners, announced today that 25 Kent, an eight-story Class A office development, has achieved Wired Certified Platinum designation in recognition of its outstanding connectivity, technological infrastructure and readiness to adopt emerging technologies. 25 Kent will be the first ground-up development in Brooklyn to be Wired Certified Platinum, and the first property in Williamsburg to be Wired Certified at any level.
WiredScore is the pioneer behind the Wired Certification standard that evaluates and distinguishes best-in-class Internet connectivity in commercial buildings. The Wired Certification is a standard trusted by tenants internationally to verify that buildings have been independently evaluated and certified to provide the Internet infrastructure that businesses require to thrive.
25 Kent will feature ground-level retail, underground parking, and a rooftop green terrace in addition to outdoor terraces on each of its eight floors. Interiors will include multiple elevators, a 24/7 attended security desk, card access control system, and lifestyle amenities such as tenant bike storage, lockers, and on-site shower facilities. In addition to the Wired Certified Platinum designation, the property boasts LEED Gold certification.
Rubenstein Partners, one of our Silver Sponsors, is a fully integrated real estate investment firm providing first-class investment services, as a Registered Investment Advisor, in office markets throughout the Eastern United States. Many of their office and retail properties are focused on delivering high-quality, sustainable business environments.
Deke Schultze, the Regional Director of New England, served as co-chair of ING Clarion’s Sustainability Task Force, which developed and implemented the firm’s Sustainable Growth Program. This program promoted green building and smart growth best practices across its investment portfolio and corporate operations.
The firm specializes in value-added office investments throughout the Eastern United States. They currently manage two fully discretionary closed-end funds — Rubenstein Properties Fund I, a $475 million private equity fund closed in 2006, and Rubenstein Properties Fund II, a $515 million private equity fund that is in its investment period — as well as some legacy assets related to the firm’s predecessor company.
Rubenstein Partners primarily focuses on complex office real estate investments, including assets requiring major redevelopment or recapitalization.
Recently, Rubenstein Partners has been working on a proposed office building to be built on top of the existing parking garage at 321 Harrison Ave in Boston's South End. The detailed plans and renderings of the approximately 230,000 sf building have just been filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Recently, Rubenstein Partners has been working on a proposed office building to be built on top of the existing parking garage at 321 Harrison Ave in Boston's South End. The detailed plans and renderings of the approximately 230,000 sf building have just been filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.