TIAA purchases seven-property Fort Point portfolio for $224 million

263 Summer Street - Boston, MA

Boston, MA Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) has closed the $224 million sale of a seven-property portfolio totaling 408,342 s/f in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood in the city’s Seaport District. HFF exclusively represented the seller, a separate account advised by Clarion Partners, and procured the buyer, an affiliate of TIAA in this landmark transaction.

The 97% leased portfolio is comprised of 263 Summer St.; 332 and 374 Congress St.; and 33-41, 34, 38 and 44 Farnsworth St., which are located across the Fort Point Channel from the city’s Financial District. Originally built in the early 1900s, the properties today feature high-quality office space characterized by exposed ceilings, natural lighting and modern efficient workspaces.

The HFF investment sales team was led by senior managing director Coleman Benedict and director Ben Sayles.

“This portfolio likely represents one of the last large-scale investment opportunities in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood with the bulk of the inventory controlled by a select number of long-term holders,” said Benedict. “Quite possibly the hottest submarket in the country; the Fort Point continues to draw a significant tenant base driven by its unique brick & timber office supply, the influx of thousands of residential units, as well as dozens of new popular restaurants and retailers.”

“TIAA is one of the largest stakeholders in the city of Boston with both large debt and equity holdings. We strongly believe in the city, its continued strength and the long-term viability of real estate investments here, which we are actively continuing to seek across asset and risk classes. This portfolio allows us to diversify our current holdings and provides for creative value enhancement moving forward,” said Sam Flood, head of northeast real estate acquisitions, TIAA Global Asset Management.

374 Congress Street - Boston, MA

Clarion Partners, an SEC registered investment adviser and FINRA member firm, has been a leading U.S. real estate investment manager for 34 years. Headquartered in New York, the firm has offices in 23 major markets throughout the U.S., São Paulo, Brazil; and London, England, as well as a presence in Mexico. With more than $40 billion in total assets under management, Clarion Partners offers a broad range of real estate strategies across the risk/return spectrum to its more than 200 domestic and international institutional investors.

TIAA is a unique financial partner. With an award-winning track record for consistent investment performance, TIAA is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural and government fields. TIAA has $854 billion in assets under management (as of 12/31/2015) and offers a wide range of financial solutions, including investing, banking, advice and guidance, and retirement services.

HFF and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. HFF operates out of 22 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing.