BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, a public non-traded real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, Calif., has acquired 50 Congress Street, a 179,872-square-foot, 10-story office building with a retail component in the heart of Boston’s financial district for $51 million plus closing costs. It was 88-percent leased at the time of purchase.
“We are excited to have acquired this beautifully maintained building,” commented Shep Wainwright, senior vice president of acquisitions for KBS Capital Advisors LLC, the REIT’s external advisor. “The high ceiling and exceptional natural lighting make this a unique and desirable building in an excellent location. We are also pleased to announce that we have hired Richards Barry Joyce & Partners to handle leasing of the property and we look forward to working with all tenant-rep brokers in the market.”
The property presently has office suites available ranging from 1,000 square-feet to 6,000 square-feet, with one 6,000 square-foot space on the top floor that features outstanding views.
50 Congress Street has a prime Boston financial district location and was built in phases between 1910 and 1915. The building’s infrastructure is modernized and structurally retrofitted with updated amenities. The retail component is located on the ground floor of the building, with the upper floors utilized for office space. Tenants include high-end gym Fisique and private trustee firms Rice, Heard & Bigelow and Nichols & Pratt.
The Boston financial district anchors the Downtown Boston financial office market. The financial district is home to the bulk of Boston’s Class-A office space and its 42.4 million square-foot rentable building area amounts to nearly half of Boston’s Central Business District, according to CoStar.
With the acquisition of 50 Congress Street, KBS-affiliated companies now own four properties in the Boston area including Rivertech, a 285,772-square-foot industrial complex in Billerica, Mass.; 825 University Avenue, a 166,574-square-foot office building in Norwood, Mass.; and the 137,421-square-foot 625 Mount Auburn Street, an office complex in Cambridge, Mass. KBS Strategic Opportunity does not own any interest in any of these other properties.
KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT invests in and manages a diverse portfolio of real estate-related loans, opportunistic real estate, real estate-related debt securities and other real estate-related investments. KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT was sponsored indirectly by Charles J. Schreiber, Jr., Peter Bren, Keith Hall and Peter McMillan III and is advised by KBS Capital Advisors, an affiliated entity which is indirectly owned and controlled by KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT’s sponsors.
About KBS
KBS Capital Advisors is an affiliate of KBS Realty Advisors, a private equity real estate company and SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 1992. Since its inception, KBS- affiliated companies have completed transactional activity of approximately $26 billion via 14 separate accounts, six commingled funds, five sovereign wealth funds and five non-traded REITs. For information, visit www.kbscapital.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT’s ability to invest in and manage a diverse portfolio, the performance of 50 Congress Street and the performance of the Boston, Mass. real estate market. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
