Photo courtesy of Wellesley Assessors Office

A mortgage holder submitted the high bid for a Wellesley office complex where developers had pivoted to a life science strategy in 2022 but failed to gain traction.

Liberty Mutual bid $65 million for 93 Worcester St. in Wellesley. An $86.7 million mortgage for an office-to-lab conversion was issued in May 2022 by TIAA and later transferred to WGN Holdings LLC, which lists Liberty Mutual executives as its officers.

The foreclosure auction was conducted by Paul E. Saperstein Co. Auctioneers & Appraisers on Thursday. Executive Vice President Samantha Saperstein confirmed the high bid.

The project was one of two local lab conversions by Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners, along with the Southline redevelopment of the former Boston Globe headquarters in Dorchester.

Fundamentals of the lab market deteriorated rapidly following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike spree of 2022 to control inflation.

On a year-over-year basis, Greater Boston lab vacancy rate rose 8.6 percent to 25.5 percent, according to a report released last week by Savills. Some 4.4 million square feet of new lab space remains under construction, adding to the existing 14.4 million square feet of available space.

The 284,435 square-foot Wellesley complex was originally developed in 2000 and is located on a 15.7-acre parcel. Wellesley Assessors value the property at $120.9 million.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to correct the high bid price was $65 million.