Jumbo buys $49M Greater Boston office portfolio

Jumbo Capital made a pretty big acquisition in the Greater Boston area, solidifying the firm’s focus on properties catering to medical and small professional services businesses over traditional office spaces.

The Quincy-based Real estate investment firm bought a seven-building office portfolio in Wellesley from Haynes Management Inc. for $48.5 million, the Boston Business Journal reported.

The properties, concentrated mainly in Wellesley Hills, house various businesses, including medical providers, law and accounting firms, and financial services advisory firms.

Here is a breakdown of the acquired properties and their corresponding sale prices:

• 40 Grove St. ($15 million)
• 326-332 Washington St./6 Abbott ($11.4 million)
• 16 Laurel Ave. ($10 million)
• 336 Washington St. ($5 million)
• 366 Washington St. ($4.15 million)
• 10 Prescott St. ($1.7 million)
• 16 Prescott St. ($1.25 million)

The portfolio acquisition involved extensive negotiations with Haynes, a process initially geared toward a larger portfolio before honing in on the final seven-building transaction. Delays were attributed to the credit crunch.

A $23.7 million mortgage loan from Brookline Bank was secured for the transaction.

Most of Haynes’ remaining properties are located in Wellesley, with a few in Newton, according to the company’s website.

Michael Greeley and Newmark team marketed the properties and brokered the transaction, according to Jumbo’s managing partner Jay Hirsch.

The office market in the Boston area has shown signs of thawing. 

Earlier this month, local firm City Realty Group bought 186 Lincoln Street in Boston for $11 million, or about $150 per square foot, marking a significant drop from its previous sale price of $20.7 million eight years ago, the publication reported. While the property’s value dropped, the acquisition is part of a trend as several downtown office properties have changed hands in the past few months, breaking a prolonged period of stagnancy in the market. 

Additionally, real estate firm Synergy Investments purchased One Liberty Square, a 13-story office building in the Financial District of downtown Boston, for $45 million, which is a 17 percent decrease from the building’s value a decade ago, the Boston Globe reported.

The firm intends to maintain 186 Lincoln as office space and has plans to enhance the building’s amenities, with an estimated investment of around $1 million.

— Ted Glanzer