Waltham, MA Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) completed three lease transactions totaling 17,405 s/f at Watermill Center on behalf of Intercontinental Real Estate Corp., the building’s landlord. Over a 24-month period, NGKF has completed a total of 33,576 s/f of leases at Watermill Center, bringing the property’s occupancy to 97%.
Built in 1984, Watermill Center is a premier six-story, 209,459 s/f, class A office building set on a seven-acre campus overlooking the Charles River Basin and the Stony Brook Reservoir. The property is centrally located ten miles west of downtown Boston in the Rte. 128 Central submarket. Intercontinental purchased Watermill Center in 2014 and has since invested significant capital into the building including an updated two-story lobby and renovated café space. In addition to these amenities, Watermill Center offers a fitness center, tenant conference room, indoor and outdoor common areas, covered parking and on-site property management.
“Since purchasing and upgrading Watermill Center, we have pulled tenants from Kendall Sq., Wellesley and the Back Bay, reached 97% occupancy and achieved rent growth of more than 20%,” said Scott Kelly, regional director of asset management at Intercontinental.
The most recent 17,405 s/f of leases were signed with Great Elm Capital Group, Inc., The Harvest Group of UBS Financial Services and IPVision, Inc. Great Elm leased 8,360 s/f and is relocating from 200 Clarendon St. in Boston. The Harvest Group, a six-person wealth management team, inked 6,444 s/f at Watermill Center. The firm relocated from 55 William St. (Wellesley Office Park) in Wellesley, Mass. Additionally, IPVision, a patent and technology analysis and consulting firm, signed a lease of 2,601 s/f and relocated from 139 Main St. in Cambridge.
The NGKF team comprised of Mark Roth, Matt Malatesta, Brendan Daly and Blake McLaughlin, represented Intercontinental.
“Watermill Center is the closest office building to the Intersection of the Mass Pike and Route 128. In a full employment economy with busy roads, tenants are placing a higher value on the ease of access to their work places,” said NGKF’s Roth.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) 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.
Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser with decades long experience in real estate investment, finance, development, construction management and asset management. Since 1959, Intercontinental and its affiliates have managed, developed, or owned collectively over $10 billion in real estate property. Today, Intercontinental manages a real estate portfolio of approximately $6 billion for its clients. The Intercontinental portfolio is diversified both by robust property mix and by geography. Fund strategies actively seek opportunities to invest in both Core and Core-Plus properties, as well as in Value-Add development projects.
