National briefs

Boston
The South Boston waterfront will soon be home to the $800 million, 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg News reported. The two-building site — the nation’s largest privately funded office-construction project — is slated for completion later this year, and is part of a wave of new development in Boston’s Seaport district. Some 3 million square feet of commercial and residential space is currently under construction in the area. Work is also planned or already underway on the $620 million redevelopment of the original Filene’s department store in Downtown Crossing, a $200 million office tower for State Street Corp., and a 360,000-square-foot office for law firm Goodwin Procter. Construction spending in Boston for the year ending June 30 was at $3.83 billion, its highest point since 2008 and an increase of 37 percent from the previous year, Bloomberg reported. Boston’s office vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2012 was 10.9 percent, substantially lower than the 15.4 percent nationwide average, according to brokerage CBRE Group, while the city saw a 2012 net absorption rate of 2.8 percent, higher than the U.S. average of 1 percent.

Raleigh
National Financial Realty and Oaktree Capital Management last month paid First States Investors $240 million for 40 office properties in eight states, Commercial Property Executive reported. The deal includes a total of 3.4 million square feet of office space, 90 percent of which is occupied by the bank Wells Fargo through a long-term master lease. The portfolio is heavily concentrated in North Carolina, where eight properties account for 1.2 million square feet. One of those is Wells Fargo’s 450,000-square-foot regional operation center in Raleigh. The remaining 32 assets are located in South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Georgia.

San Francisco
Africa Israel USA last month sold the historic Rialto Building in San Francisco’s South Financial District to Hines and Invesco for $57 million, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The two companies paid about $425 per square foot for the 135,000-square-foot office and retail property, which houses tenants like Trulia and the public relations firm LaunchSquad (there’s a Chipotle restaurant, too). Seventeen offers were submitted for the building, which is 85 percent leased, and it sold six weeks after hitting the market. Africa Israel acquired the Rialto in 2007 for $21 million. Designed by architects Meyer & O’Brien, the Renaissance Revival building was constructed in 1902 but its interiors were completely redone after the Great 1906 Earthquake. Hines is planning a multi-million-dollar renovation of the building.

Beverly Hills
The so-called “Beverly House” mansion is now available on the rental market for $600,000 per month, making it the most expensive rental listing in the country, the blog Curbed reported. The 28-bedroom, 40-bathroom house, built in 1927, is also listed for sale at $115 million. Once the home of publisher William Randolph Hearst, the house served as the honeymoon destination of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and was also featured in “The Godfather,” serving as the backdrop for the famous horse head scene. Located on three and a half acres of land, the house is currently owned by attorney and investor Leonard Ross, who filed for bankruptcy in 2010. It has been on the sales market since 2007, when it was listed for $165 million.

Miami
A five-bedroom, seven- bathroom penthouse at Faena House, a condo development designed by Foster + Partners, hit the market last month for $50 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. If it sells for that price, it will be the most expensive residential sale in South Florida’s history. The 8,273-square-foot penthouse boasts a 30-foot-long pool, outdoor kitchen and cabana.

Los Angeles 
An anonymous buyer last month paid $2.1 million for a house featured in the classic 1984 horror film “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” the Los Angeles Times reported. The three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom house still bears the iconic red door showcased in the film. Built in 1919, the two-story home has 2,700 square feet of living space. It last sold in 2006 for $1.15 million and boasts a guest house and swimming pool.

West Palm Beach
After winning his second Super Bowl as a member of the Baltimore Ravens, retired linebacker Ray Lewis has listed his oceanfront home in South Florida for $5 million, Realtor.com reported. He will be heading north to Bristol, Conn., to work as an analyst for ESPN. Lewis bought the four-story mansion in 2004 for a little over $5.2 million.