Image courtesy of Wellesley Assessors Office
A Wellesley office building that received $86.7 million in financing for a life science conversion is headed for the auction block.
Known as Wellesley Gateway, the 93 Worcester St. property contains a 284,435-square-foot office building that was developed in 2000. A foreclosure auction is scheduled for 1 p.m. on July 17 by Paul E. Saperstein Co. Auctioneers & Appraisers.
Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners began permitting for the life science project in 2022 as many developers scoured the suburbs for underutilized office buildings suitable for lab conversions.
The $86.7 million mortgage was issued in May 2022, and later assigned to CBRE Loan Services and subsequently to WGN Holdings LLC, according to a legal notice. WGN lists Liberty Mutual executives as its officers.
The property is part of a 5-building office park located near the junction of Routes 9 and 128. Beacon Capital announced plans for the partial lab conversion project in early 2022.
The property is owned by the state’s real estate agency, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, and ground-leased by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America through 2097.
The property spans 15.7 acres and includes 1,440 garaged and surface parking spaces. It is currently assessed at $120.9 million, according to the Wellesley assessors office database.
Qualified bidders are required to submit $1 million to an escrow agent by July 16, and the successful bidder is required to submit a deposit equal to 5 percent of the bid price, according to the legal notice.
Beacon Capital did not respond to a request for comment. The company also has overseen a major lab conversion in Dorchester, the Southline project at the former Boston Globe headquarters on Morrissey Boulevard.
Greater Boston suburban lab vacancies have risen steadily in the past two years, leaving 29.5 percent of the 27 million square foot market vacant, Colliers reported this month.
