Photo courtesy of Nan Fung Life Sciences Real Estate

Nan Fung Life Sciences Real Estate has made its second large acquisition in Boston’s core business districts, buying a 120-year-old office building next to one of the city’s highest-profile construction projects.

A Nan Fung affiliate bought 1 Winthrop Square from an affiliate of MAPFRE Insurance for $75 million, according to public records. The 5-story, 115,667-square-foot structure is next to Millennium Partners’ Winthrop Center tower. MAPFRE had bought the building in October 2015 for $55 million.

Other recent, similar downtown office deals include the $37.5 million acquisition of the 48,905-square-foot 101 Summer St. and $70.35 million sale of the 108,106-square-foot 99 Chauncy St., both in October.

The deal comes a little over a month after the firm bought a 152,102-square-foot Seaport district office building for $115 million. Nan Fung has already secured a letter of intent to lease 80,000 square feet to Cambridge rare disease specialist Avrobio, as Banker & Tradesman reported last month. 

“We look forward to bringing more unique opportunities for life science businesses to grow in the city of Boston and working with the city to continue supporting this important industry,” Nan Fung CEO Matthew Powers said in a statement. “There is a symbiotic opportunity for the city to accommodate the growing and important life science industry, but there is an unmet need for high-quality life science space and we are proud to be able to provide that for companies looking to grow and establish themselves in Boston.”

Nan Fung’s moves are being closely watched in the city’s commercial real estate and biotech communities. Powers, formerly of JLL, was hired late last year to spearhead the company’s local expansion. The company has a $1.5 billion capital commitment from its Hong Kong-based parent investment company to invest in both biotech firms, with 46 investments made so far, and in local real estate.