Bidders are lining up to bid on 55 Summer St. (above) and One Bowdoin Square in downtown Boston, according to industry sources.
Two more Boston commercial properties are close to going buy/buy.
According to industry sources, a bevy of suitors have made bids on a pair of downtown buildings being divested by H.N. Gorin Co. The assets include One Bowdoin Square in Government Center and 55 Summer St., a 126,000-square-foot retail/office building anchored on the ground floor by a 14,000-square-foot CVS Pharmacy.
“We had really great interest in both properties,” said Cushman & Wakefield Senior Director Elizabeth Thomas, with 14 offers tendered on One Bowdoin Square and 10 submitted for 55 Summer St. Contained in that mix were a couple of investors seeking to secure both assets, she explained, and the list of finalists winnowed from the original rostrum includes some of those with the dual-purchase intent. Thomas declined to identify any of the bidders, or indicate whether those pursuing a package deal are in the lead position.
“We are in the best-and-final [offer stage], but I just can’t say how it will go,” said Thomas. “It will certainly be a tough decision.” While she would not identify the prospects, Thomas said the capital was largely domestic and private, although some institutional sources have also targeted the buildings.
Both assets deserve the solid response, said Thomas, calling One Bowdoin Square “a gorgeous building” and an address that services a variety of tenants, from governmental to professional and medical. The office of U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, Shannon Law Assoc. and Massachusetts General Hospital are among those leasing space in the 11-story, 130,000-square-foot property, which H.N. Gorin has owned since 1999. Constructed in 1968, One Bowdoin Square underwent an extensive overhaul in 1989 by renowned architect Graham Gund.
Across town in the Downtown Crossing district, 55 Summer St. benefits from a location that services both retail shoppers and the office tenants located in the upper reaches of the 10-story building, said Thomas, while the long-term lease with CVS appears to be giving bidders a sense of stability for the asset. “People really seem to like that,” she said, with the store itself said to be among the pharmacy chain’s best-performing operations.
C&W’s Capital Markets Group has been among several local investment shops brimming with commercial property sales activity, with assets of all sizes and uses finding eager capital in the charged environment. Other Boston buildings that have changed hands to date this year include 10 and 24 School St., 10 St. James Ave. and 75 Arlington St. Sources could not say what the price range is for either One Bowdoin Square or 55 Summer St.
