Bulfinch And Partners Announce Completion of Recapitalization of Cambridge Discovery Park

BOSTON, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bulfinch Companies, Inc. (Bulfinch), a Boston-based private, real estate investment, development and management firm, announces that it has completed the sale and recapitalization of Cambridge Discovery Park (CDP) to Healthpeak Properties, Inc., a fully integrated healthcare focused real estate investment trust.  The new ownership group consolidates ownership across all office, lab and garage buildings at the park. Bulfinch will continue to serve as property manager and maintain a minority ownership interest in the park.

The sellers were joint ventures among affiliates of Bulfinch, who was the developer of CDP, Chicago-based Harrison Street, a leading investment management firm, and Washington, D.C. based National Real Estate Advisors, LLC (National) on behalf of its clients.

"Bulfinch is especially excited to welcome Healthpeak as our new partner at CDP," stated Eric Schlager, CEO of Bulfinch. "We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding partnership that extends beyond CDP into additional life science and medical assets in Greater Boston."

Situated in the Alewife Life Science Cluster in Cambridge, CDP includes three Class-A life sciences and office buildings with two parking garages totaling approximately 620,000 square feet.  This includes Building 100, Building 200 and the recently completed Building 400-500, a 286,000 square foot lab and office building that opened in Q1 2020. Buildings 100 and 200 are fully leased. Building 400-500 is nearly 90% leased to biotech companies, with 35,525 square feet of remaining availability on the sixth floor that features a private roof deck and unobstructed views of Cambridge and Boston.

CDP is located on Route 2 in an opportunity zone.  The park offers an urban oasis to tenants with ample amenities on site, including a state-of-the-art café and bistro, two fitness centers, an AC Marriott boutique hotel with 150-rooms, restaurant and bar, Blue Bikes, outdoor gathering spaces and walking trails.

Affiliates of Bulfinch acquired what was then known as Acorn Park nearly 20 years ago and have since transformed one of the first post-war suburban office parks in Cambridge into the state-of-the-art life science campus that CDP is now. Bulfinch's vision capitalized on the irreplaceable location to supply the constrained Cambridge market with 27-acres of lush green space easily accessible by foot or a short shuttle ride from the Alewife MBTA Red Line Station, minutes from Boston, Logan Airport and Route 128. Over the last two decades Bulfinch has successfully master planned the site, developed more than 600,000 square feet and procured a premier tenant roster that includes Forrester Research, The Smithsonian Institution, FogPharma, LifeMine, Genocea Biosciences, Simcere Innovation, Senda Biosciences and Arbor Biotechnologies.

With more than 10 properties in Cambridge, Bulfinch retains unwavering commitment to the life science and biotech market in Cambridge and looks forward to maximizing future development at CDP in partnership with Healthpeak for the final phase of development to include an additional 100,000 square feet.

This transaction further supports Bulfinch's mission - Discover + Deliver - as the company works with passion and creativity to create value for our stakeholders and enhance our communities.

About The Bulfinch Companies, Inc.
The Bulfinch Companies, Inc. (Bulfinch) is a third-generation, entrepreneurial, value-added real estate investment firm specializing in the development, acquisition, management, and repositioning of commercial properties in Greater Boston. With $3 Billion in assets, Bulfinch has built a reputation for identifying opportunities and creating valuable and coveted properties across many industries. The firm's disciplined approach, entrepreneurial mindset, depth of experience and focus on meeting the needs of tenants and partners have produced an enviable track record and roster of tenants and investors for more than 84 years.

About Harrison Street
Harrison Street is one of the leading investment management firms exclusively focused on alternative real assets. Since inception in 2005, the firm has created a series of differentiated investment solutions focused on demographic-driven, needs-based assets. The firm has invested across senior housing, student housing, healthcare delivery, life sciences and storage real estate as well as social and utility infrastructure. Headquartered in Chicago with an office in London, the firm has more than 185-employees and approximately $29 billion in assets under management. Clients of the firm include a global institutional investor base domiciled in North America, Europe and Asia. Harrison Street has been awarded Best Places to Work by Pensions & Investments for the last six consecutive years and was named 2019 North American Alternatives Investor of the Year by PERE. For more information, please visit www.harrisonst.com  

About National Real Estate Advisors, LLC
National Real Estate Advisors, LLC is an investment manager specializing in a build-to-core strategy, developing and managing large-scale, urban commercial and multifamily projects for its institutional client accounts. National constructs investment portfolios of modern property assets—apartment, office, mixed use, industrial (including data centers), and hotel—with design features, technological enhancements, and amenities that drive high tenant demand and can create value for investors. National is an independently operated subsidiary of the National Electrical Benefit Fund ("NEBF"), a substantial pension trust with a significant amount of assets that are managed by National on a discretionary basis. For more information, please visit www.natadvisors.com.

SOURCE Bulfinch