Black and Phelan Arrange $65 Million Cambridge Loan

CAMBRIDGE — Terms were not disclosed, but those behind a $65 million leasehold mortgage from The Hartford Life Insurance Co. on 40 Landsdowne St. were attractive enough to win the business of Forest City Enterprises and Health Care REIT Inc. on a refinancing arranged by Colliers International. Vice President Jeff Black and Co-Chairman Kevin Phelan of Colliers’ debt and equity group advised the borrowers, owners of University Park at MIT where 40 Landsdowne St. first opened in 2003. Black notes the Colliers Cambridge leasing team represents Forest City at the park that encompasses 2.3 million sf of mixed-use space, with principal Joseph Flaherty having done lab and office deals there stretching back decades. “It was nice to get on board with Forest City on the debt activity” at the award-winning master planned complex, Black tells the Real Reporter. It also continues a trend of CRE firms intertwining specialties to better service clients, marrying the leasing knowhow with investment sales and even property management. Other members of the Colliers leasing team working with Flaherty at University Park include Ben Coffin and Tucker Hansen. . “We’ve kind of come full circle,” says Black.

Public records indicate the 40 Landsdowne St. loan was provided by the insurance company’s affiliate, Hartford Investment Management Co. and has a 7.5- year duration. Millennium Pharmaceuticals leases 100 percent of the building, an eight story, 215,000-sf structure adjacent to its companion building, 35 Landsdowne St. Each has a mix of what Colliers deems “sophisticated, highly flexible” research labs and corporate office space, and reports the facility was designed “to invite scientific dialogue and collaboration” through various amenities and space plans.

Besides forging a relationship with two powerful national CRE investors, Black says the pedigree of the asset made for a positive experience. It was also a hometown assignment for a team that does business across the country, typically on behalf of existing New England clients. As with other finance operations, Black reports the Colliers contingent has seen a continuation of 2013 when the group processed an impressive $1.5 billion. “It was one of our top years ever,” he says.