Pergola and Doherty of CBRE/New England broker $30.1 million sale of Old City Hall

Boston, MA CBRE/New England’s Capital Markets team completed the leasehold interest sale of the city’s Old City Hall, an 83,700 s/f mixed-used building located in downtown at 45 School St., for $30.1 million.

Designed by Gridley J. F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman and constructed between 1862-1865, the city’s Old City Hall had been vacated by the city in the mid-1960s and was then spared demolition and completely renovated in 1970 by the seller. It remains an architectural masterpiece situated along the city’s Freedom Trail. The property has more than 500,000 annual visitors and the location itself has a notable history.

 

 

CBRE/NE’s Capital Markets experts Dave Pergola and Brian Doherty represented the seller, Architectural Heritage Foundation, and procured the buyer, Synergy Investments. Rockland Trust arranged a loan of $20 million to OCH Holdings, a subsidiary of Synergy Investments, for the purchase of the building.

“Synergy Investments is pleased and proud to add one of the finest and most historically significant assets in the City of Boston to our portfolio,” said Dave Greaney, president of Synergy Investments. “We appreciate the importance of the property to the residents of the city of Boston and look forward to enhancing both our tenants’ and the public’s experience.”

Synergy Investments is a full service real estate investment and operating company primarily focused on the Boston market. They are one of the largest and most active landlords in the city and have grown their portfolio to approximately 4 million square feet providing space to more than 400 businesses and organizations. Synergy is an active member of the Boston business community and have been recognized as Landlord of the Year by the GBREB Commercial Brokers Association (CBA). Synergy Investments is also proud to support numerous organizations that make a positive impact in the city. 

Architectural Heritage Foundation(AHF) is a 501c-3 not-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve historic buildings and landscapes. Founded in 1966, AHF has been blending the fields of historic preservation and real estate development, asset management, and property management ever since. Having completed Quincy Market feasibility studies that lead to the acclaimed Faneuil Hall Marketplace complex, in 1969, AHF won stewardship of Boston’s Old City Hall. Our successful redevelopment of this grande dame structure into a thriving restaurant and office building continues to demonstrate the relevance of adaptive reuse to downtown Boston’s future, and has been a national model. AHF remains committed to Boston and seeks to inspire communities and strengthen cultural, environmental and economic vitality. 

CB Richard Ellis – N.E. Partners, LP, a joint venture with CBRE Group, Inc. has offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. CBRE Group, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2016 revenue). The company has more than 75,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services.