Boston, MA Boston Realty Advisors (BRA) and Advisors Living, the commercial and residential teams that make up one of the largest independent real estate brokerage and consulting companies in Massachusetts, celebrated the opening of new headquarters at 136 Newbury St. in the Back Bay.

After 21 years of growing commercial and residential business from its offices on Boylston St. and a year in temporary Newbury St. space during renovations of the building, team members and clients cut a ribbon – twice, once for each of the commercial and residential divisions – on the four-story building between Clarendon and Dartmouth Sts.

“We are a high-growth company and have now established a state-of-the-art presence in a beautifully appointed building with a rich history on vibrant Newbury St.,” said Boston Realty Advisors founder and senor partner Jason Weissman. 

The company purchased the 8,530 s/f brick building for $7.6 million a year ago. Since then it has been undergoing an extensive interior renovation and modernization with added amenities, including entirely new lavatories, under the professional direction of Derek Rubinoff Architects and Beyond the Common, which completed the interiors. 

Wil Catlin, managing director and senior partner at BRA, noted that Advisors Living is becoming one of the most active residential real estate brokers in the state and needed retail space to showcase the properties its growing number of agents are marketing. Advisors Living has more than 200 residential advisors in the Greater Boston area now.

Built in 1877, 136 Newbury St. formerly housed the School of Fashion Design and was designed by architects H.B. Allen and Peabody and Stearns. According to the MACRIS database it was known as the Charles Freeland House, after a developer of Back Bay properties. It was initially a single-family dwelling with commercial space.

The Back Bay, with Newbury St. at its heart, is one of the strongest real estate neighborhoods in the country, Weissman noted. Both before the pandemic and during a significant commercial comeback over the last year or so, real estate professionals have seen tenants seek space in the historic brick offices and storefronts of Newbury St.

Many financial services firms and advisors, including private equity and family offices, have relocated to Newbury St., often from high-priced floors of the city’s tower buildings. 

Among those joining Weissman in the afternoon and evening opening celebration on Tuesday, Oct. 3, were Wil Catlin, managing director and senior partner of Boston Realty Advisors; Merit McIntyre, president and chief executive officer of Advisors Living; Jon DiPietro, managing director of Advisors Living; Tana Weissman, principal and chief operating officer of Boston Realty Advisors; Kevin Benzinger, director of the capital markets group; Janice Dumont, chief executive officer of Advisors Living/New Development; Susan Tsantes, senior vice president and managing broker of Advisor Living; Bonny Doorakian, managing director and partner of Boston Realty Advisors; Bill McIntyre, chief financial officer; Mary Beth Canova, director of marketing for Advisors Living; Andrew Herald, associate director of Boston Realty Advisors; Robert LeClair, managing director and partner of Boston Realty Advisors; Chris McMahon, managing director of Boston Realty Advisors; Azeddine Fadli, senior vice president and manager of Advisors Living in Canton; Jeff Smith, Senior vice president of Advisors Living in Arlington and Merrimac; Michelle Oates, senior vice president and manager of Advisors Living in Andover, Gloucester and Tewksbury; Eleni Perperis, Marketing manager of Boston Realty Advisors; and Lauren Kokoszka, senior marketing specialist for Back Bay, Canton, Hingham and Nantucket.

“Companies are moving here because of the true experience of tremendous retail, excellent food and cafes, high quality coffee shops a glance away – a real live-work-play environment,” said Joe Wagner, associate director of Boston Realty Advisors, who specializes in retail. “There’s luxury retail and high-end office space throughout.”