87 Summer St., Boston
There was not much fanfare about it, but a piece of Boston history recently changed hands, as Taurus New England Investments sold the 5-story 87 Summer St. to a New York investment group. Today recognized by locals as the home of the eternally popular Kingston Deli, 87 Summer St. is also considered to be the point of origin for the Hub’s Great Fire of 1872, a massive blaze that engulfed much of the city’s downtown area. No cows were ever connected with the incident.
A plaque detailing the site’s infamy is attached to the side of 87 Summer St., noted Taurus principal Peter Merrigan, although the building itself was not constructed until five years after the conflagration. The 25,000-square-foot building has managed to avoid similar catastrophes during its existence, not to mention a few dicey real estate cycles along the way. After a renovation in 1982, the building eventually was purchased by the predecessors to Archon Atlantic, which then sold it to Taurus in January 2001 for $4.29 million.
“It was a good little deal for us,” Merrigan said last week of the property. After performing some renovation work to the asset, Taurus traded 87 Summer St. last month for $5.3 million to an offshoot of Centurian Real Estate. Efforts to contact the new owners by press deadline were unsuccessful. Merrigan said he believes it is Centurian’s first major real estate purchase in Boston. Along with more than 20,000 square feet of valuable downtown office space, the 5-story building includes nearly 5,000 square feet of retail, including the aforementioned deli. NAI Hunneman Commercial Co. acted as broker in the transaction.
Taurus itself has been active in Boston for several years, owning such prime properties as 160 Federal St., located just around the corner from 87 Summer St. Even with the city’s recent economic woes, investors continue to pursue real estate opportunities in the area, said Merrigan. “There is a lot of new money trying to get into Boston,” he said.
Small Change
ANOTHER HOT DEAL: Outside of Boston, Taurus is also wrapping up the sale of a grocery-anchored strip center in Norton located across from the Tweeter Center. Beyond acknowledging that a sale is in progress, Merrigan declined to discuss specific details, but one source identified the new buyer of the 130,000-square-foot retail development as SSR Realty Advisors. Efforts to contact SSR officials by press deadline were unsuccessful. The source said the Great Woods Marketplace will fetch more than $15 million. Taurus has only owned the property for about a year.
RESORT AREA: Having just resigned as CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Barry S. Sternlicht is apparently looking for a quiet place to relax, which may explain his recent $9.6 million acquisition of a property on Nantucket. Sternlicht, whose firm has been trying desperately for several years to launch a convention center hotel in Boston, acquired the property at 212 Eel Point Road from David S. Rogers. The purchase by Sternlicht is just the latest in a series of sales along Eel Point Road, including the recent transfer of 2.3 acres to Tudor Investments for $4.75 million. According to records on file at the Nantucket Registry of Deeds, Rogers paid $1.25 million for 212 Eel Point Road in August 2000.
Weekly Statement
“Housing is one of the most important things you can do in a city.”
Thomas M. Menino, mayor of Boston, in unveiling a plan to develop 15,000 residential units in the Hub during the next four years.
