German Investor Buys Seaport Office Building in Record Deal

In one of the largest single-asset trades in Boston real estate history, Skanska USA has sold 101 Seaport Boulevard to German real estate fund Union Investment Real Estate GmbH for $452 million. The transaction is Union Investment's third recent acquisition in Boston, and will join the portfolio of open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa. The deal doesn't include the building's ground floor, which will be home to the By Chloe restaurant by this summer. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented Skanska on the sale and the leasing; full terms of the deal were not disclosed. The divestment will be recorded by Skanska USA Commercial Development in the first quarter of 2016, Skanska said in a statement.

"After the acquisition of The Godfrey Hotel and the Converse Headquarters at Lovejoy Wharf, we are pleased to have strengthened our foothold in the important and economically very stable gateway market of Boston with the acquisition of this trophy building at 101 Seaport Boulevard," said New York City-based Tal Peri, Head of U.S. East Coast & Latin America at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.

"The building, its elegance, and its environmentally conscious design, both inside and out, reflect our passion for the community, the Seaport and the City of Boston. 101 Seaport has been a catalyst for the transformation of the neighborhood and we look forward continuing to deliver the most sustainable and efficient buildings along Seaport Boulevard with the completion of Watermark Seaport and the development of 121 Seaport," added Charley Leatherbee, Executive Vice President of Skanska USA Commercial Development.

Skanska developed the 17-story, 440,000 square foot office building at the corner of Seaport Boulevard and Boston Wharf Road for $126 million, wrapping construction in early 2015; Skanska also leases 28,000 square feet on the tower's second floor. Accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers in October 2015 relocated its northeast headquarters from Boston's Financial District into 333,500 square feet at 101 Seaport, becoming the building's anchor tenant. 101 Seaport is the first office building in Boston to be certified Platinum under the LEED sustainability standard.

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