Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. of Brighton has landed two new tenants at 226 Causeway St. in Boston.
For some in Boston’s North Station area, the dismantling of the Central Artery viaduct and Green Line elevated transit line offer fresh commercial real estate opportunities, but just as a slew of new construction proposals are emerging there, at least one local development firm is close to wrapping up its investment in the eclectic business district.
Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. of Brighton has landed two new tenants for its 226 Causeway St. office building, headlined by a 10-year, 35,000-square-foot lease to Oxfam America. Coupled with an 8,000-square-foot commitment by Cleary Insurance, occupancy at the former bakery warehouse now exceeds 90 percent, bolstering Intercontinental’s initial notion that North Station would prove attractive to tenants once the extensive infrastructure upgrades were completed.
“This was very much a pioneering development, and it’s nice to see [Intercontinental’s] vision really taking shape,” said Richards Barry Joyce & Partners principal John P. Barry, whose Boston-based real estate services firm has been listing agent for 226 Causeway St. since the outset. “To have been there on day one when they first began hammering nails and to see where it is now has been very satisfying,” said Barry. “It’s a great asset.”
Indeed, as encouraging as the changes in the North Station and so-called Bulfinch Triangle within that area have been, Barry maintained that the high-end overhaul of 226 Causeway St. was a key reason for the solid tenant response. “The redevelopment was excellent, and has helped make it one of the best quality buildings in that entire submarket,” said Barry, who represented Intercontinental in both the Oxfam and Cleary leases along with RBJ Vice President Thomas Ashe. David Richardson of McCall & Almy negotiated terms for Oxfam, while Ashe and Barry also acted on behalf of Cleary Insurance in its five-year pact.
A global nonprofit working to fight poverty and starvation, Oxfam America will relocate from West Street in downtown Boston later this year. Thomas R. Taranto, Intercontinental’s director of asset management, praised the organization for its work and said his firm is “excited to have an organization that has such a positive global impact move their headquarters to our building.”
Large floor plates should help Oxfam efficiently utilize its space on the fifth floor, said Barry, adding that 226 Causeway St.’s centralized location and access to several public transit lines also factored into the nonprofit’s decision to relocate to the building. Access was also critical to Cleary Insurance, said Barry. The latter tenant will be relocating from within the North Station submarket later this year, moving over from nearby Portland Street.
Acquired by Intercontinental in 2000 for $24 million, the 6-story 226 Causeway St. was transformed into a mix of office space and apartments, the latter facilitated via a 6-story addition to the original building. Intercontinental subsequently sold the residential portion for more than $40 million in 2003, with the new owners converting those units to condominiums. The nearly 200,000 square feet of office space today features such tenants as the Boston Celtics, Companion Health Care, Grant Thornton and the Massachusetts Land Court.
