Marketing coalition Upromise is the most recent tenant to lease space at Wells Center in Newton, which is owned by New Jersey-based Normandy Real Estate Partners.

A company that recently entered the Greater Boston commercial real estate market has found considerable success after several tenants leased more than 100,000 square feet in two properties over the past four months. The largest lease – a 78,000-square-foot deal – closed on Aug. 1, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, which brokered the transaction.

Marketing coalition Upromise is the latest tenant to lease space at Wells Center in Newton, one of a portfolio of properties recently acquired by New Jersey-based Normandy Real Estate Partners. The firm first acquired property in the Bay State late last year, and has since been aggressively purchasing assets, mostly along the Route 128 corridor.

The firm looks for properties with significant lease vacancies, but also where economic conditions are rapidly improving, said Normandy Principal Raymond Trevisan.

“We saw that in the Greater Boston submarket,” he said. “The market had been down for a while, and we saw an upswing.”

The strategy appears to be working. In addition to the Upromise lease – that company moved from another Newton location, about one-eighth of a mile away, because it was expanding – four other companies have leased a combined 32,561 square feet at Wells Center and at 7-57 Wells Ave., which is also owned by Normandy, over the past four months. Normandy bought the Wells Avenue buildings in April.

The company, which does most of its investing between Boston and Washington, D.C., became interested in the Boston submarket about a year and a half ago, but it took about three quarters before it bought its first property. In addition to the Newton properties, Normandy owns two properties in Dedham and recently bought others in Lexington and Waltham. Most of its properties are office buildings, but Normandy also owns some industrial property and one hotel in the state. Its assets in Massachusetts total 1.4 million square feet.

Most of the leasing, so far, has been at the Newton properties, Trevisan said.

“The Newton-Needham interchange has always been a good location for commercial real estate,” said Alex Dauria, senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle.

The tenant base in the area is very loyal, and most choose to stay if they can find real estate to accommodate any growth, according to Dauria. That was the case with Upromise.

“The Upromise deal was a classic example,” he said.

The company moved from 117 Kendrick St. in Newton because executives wanted to stay in the area and did not want to disrupt employees’ commutes, Dauria added.

“It’s just one of those pocket markets where people tend to like it, and if they can expand and stay where they are, they will,” he said.

‘Vertical Integration’
Wells Center is a quiet office park that overlooks the Charles River Watershed. It is made more attractive by its easy access to executive bedroom communities like Dedham.

Normandy’s success with the leasing there can be attributed to “a combination of timing, location and the quality of assets,” Trevisan said. “I think they’re very high-quality assets.”

The Wells Avenue properties required very few improvements after Normandy bought them, he said.

Normandy plans to continue its investment in Greater Boston.

“We will definitely be making more investments in the Boston area,” Trevisan said.

The company sees Newton’s commercial real estate market recovering, and Waltham’s recovering very quickly. Normandy looks at Waltham as the bellwether for the 128 corridor, Trevisan said.

Wells Center is 82 percent leased and 7-57 Wells Avenue is 100 percent leased.

The other individual transactions at Wells Center involved First Notice Systems, which leased 17,564 square feet; Advisor Investment Management, which expanded to 12,646 square feet; and Altiris Inc., which expanded to 13,500 square feet. At 7-57 Wells Ave., Pro-Pharma signed a deal for 9,400 square feet.

Dauria, Jones Lang LaSalle Assistant Vice President Jay Nugent and associate Brian Skeffington negotiated the Upromise, Altiris and Advisor Investment leases on behalf of Normandy. Cushman & Wakefield represented Normandy on the Pro-Pharma lease.

Upromise was acquired by Sallie Mae in June.

“We have experienced significant leasing activity during the four months we have owned the Wells Center assets. The recent expansions by Altiris and Advisor, and the decisions by Upromise, Pro Pharmaceuticals and First Notice to move their respective corporate headquarters to Wells Center and 7-57 Wells Ave., is a testament to the quality of the assets and their superior location on the Route 128 corridor,” Trevisan said in a prepared statement.

Wells Center is a 240,000-square-foot, first-class office building. The 3-story building features a conference center with theater seating, a full-service cafeteria with corporate catering by Sodexho, and a fitness center.

The other property, 7-57 Wells Ave., is an 89,048-square-foot building located in a wooded setting along the Charles River with extensively landscaped gardens. The 4-story building was fully renovated in 2005 and features a 3-story glass atrium.

“Since Normandy acquired the assets they have been extremely proactive and responsive to prospective tenants,” Nugent said in a prepared statement. “Their recent success is a testament to their hard work.”

Trevisan said he attributes much of the company’s success to its “vertical integration.” Normandy has its own people managing properties, and moves quickly when making decisions, he added.

Also in April, Normandy acquired the Saracen Portfolio, a five-building, 804,959-square-foot office portfolio located Waltham, Newton and Dedham. That marked Normandy’s second acquisition in the Route 128 submarket in less than a month, after closing on 400 Fifth Ave. in Waltham this March.

Normandy Real Estate Partners is a fully integrated real estate investment management company based in Morristown, N.J., with offices in Boston and New York City. Over the last 10 years, Normandy professionals have invested over $820 million of equity in 47 separate transactions totaling over $3 billion in asset value. Normandy recently closed on its current discretionary real estate fund, Normandy Real Estate Fund, with projected total purchasing power of approximately $1.8 billion.