Watertown, MA Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) has been appointed as the exclusive leasing agent for 65 Grove St. Recently acquired by Cresset Development, the former GE Ionics’ property is nearing completion of a property-wide rehab and repositioning.

65 Grove St. is a 120,000 s/f office, medical, R&D and life science-ready building.

65 Grove Street - Watertown, MA

NGKF’s Phil Giunta, executive managing director, George Nugent, executive managing director, Dan Krysiak, senior managing director, and Jeremy Roy, managing director, will lead the brokerage team assigned to lease the space.

The building is located close to notable corporate neighbors such as Tufts Health Plan, AthenaHealth, NESN, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals and Forma Therapeutics. With numerous bus lines servicing the area, 65 Grove St. is located 5-10 minutes from Arsenal St., Storrow Dr., the Mass Pike, Memorial Dr., Harvard Sq. and Newton Corner.

Originally built in 1945, the three-story property features an infrastructure and a number of rare features for a building in the Greater Boston office market offering proximity to Cambridge and Downtown Boston. The property features 12’ ceilings, abundant floor load capacity, new oversized floor-to-ceiling glass windows, massive power availability, and large, efficient floor plates. In addition, there are 390 on-site parking spaces, nearly 300 of which are covered in a newly constructed garage surrounded by landscaped grounds and a beautiful courtyard.

Cresset Development acquired the property in June 2014 due to the desirable location and structural integrity. To reposition the building, the firm devised a significant renovation program that includes improvements to the building’s curb appeal as well as a complete renovation of the interior space and installation of new building HVAC, mechanicals, electrical systems and roof to maximize the building’s energy efficiency. Cresset has turned the space into a collaborative workspace by adding building amenities including a courtyard-facing building lobby, common areas and interior bike storage. The building offers access to the Watertown Greenway Bike Trail scheduled for completion in 2017 and numerous neighborhood amenities, giving future tenants and employees at 65 Grove St. a unique recreational alternative right outside their door.

“Given the bustling neighborhood and retail amenities in proximity to the property, as well as the building’s easy access to Cambridge and Downtown Boston, we foresee 65 Grove St. successfully drawing forward-thinking companies who are looking to relocate their operations to newly renovated creative space offering modern amenities and attractive rents — especially compared to those in neighboring Cambridge and Downtown Boston,” said Giunta. “Prospective tenants need only look at Cresset’s most recent development, the phenomenally successful Liberty Wharf project in Boston’s Seaport District, as a testament to the developer’s stellar track record of repositioning assets in emerging markets. 65 Grove St. will be no exception. There is no doubt that with Cresset’s forethought and mindfulness to detail that 65 Grove St. will be seen in the same light as a cutting-edge corporate destination employers and most importantly, their employees, will be proud to call home.”

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NGKF’s 14,100 professionals operate from more than 400 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents.

With roots dating back to 1929, NGKF’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NGKF’s full-service platform comprises BGC’s real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, appraisal, and valuation services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services.