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A Maryland real estate investor has acquired the Russo’s property in Watertown for $36.5 million following announcement that the specialty grocer and produce market is preparing to shut down after more than a century.

NewTower Trust, an affiliate of Bentall Kennedy, closed on the transaction for the 3.8-acre property at 560 Pleasant St. on Wednesday, according to a Middlesex County Registry of Deeds filing.

Russo’s announced this week it will cease operations in the fall after more than a century. The Pleasant Street property contains a 47,722-square-foot grocery store completed in 1989.

NewTower Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Boston Globe reported that the new owner plans a life science project.

The transaction is the latest in a series of acquisitions of Watertown commercial properties by developers seeking opportunities for higher rent-paying uses such as life science.

National Development and Alexandria Real Estate Equities acquired the Mount Auburn Club property last year for nearly $33 million and filed plans for a 225,000-square-foot office and lab complex. Boston Development Group is building a speculative lab building at the former Colonial GMC Buick dealership on Galen St.