Boston-Area Life Science Project Lands $246M Loan

808 Windsor. Image courtesy of JLL Capital Markets

Acting on behalf of a partnership between Leggat McCall Properties, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and Deutsche Finance America, JLL Capital Markets has orchestrated $246 million in construction financing for 808 Windsor, a premier life science project just outside Boston in Somerville, Mass.

The 353,000-square-foot tower will sprout up as part of the partners’ nearly 1.4 million-square-foot Boynton Yards Master Plan development.

The financing for 808 Windsor, which will also carry the address of 121 South St., came in the form of a five-year loan through Bank OZK. The state-of-the-art project drew a great deal of attention among lenders.

“The response from the lending community was robust, as we had interest from banks, debt funds and life companies alike,” Henry Schaffer, director with JLL Capital Markets, told Commercial Property Executive. Brett Paulsrud, a senior managing director with the firm, worked with Schaffer to arrange the transaction.

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808 Windsor will be a genuine transit-oriented development, occupying a one-acre spot immediately adjacent to an MBTA station due to open in the first quarter of 2022. Designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge, the 11-story building will qualify for LEED Platinum certification and encompass 346,000 square feet of lab space, 7,000 square feet of retail accommodations, as well as 242 below-grade parking spaces. Deutsche Finance announced in early December that preparations for the foundation and excavation for the building had already gotten underway.

Upon completion, 808 Windsor will be the second project to deliver at Boynton Yards. The first, the 290,000-square-foot property at 101 South St., holds the distinction of being Somerville’s first life science building and is fully leased to four companies founded by Flagship Pioneering. When Flagship announced the lease in March 2021, the company also revealed that it had secured the option on an additional building at Boynton Yards due to deliver in late 2023.

Pandemic-era attraction

Life science real estate commanded its share of financing before the pandemic, but lenders have grown even more keen on the subsector since the global health crisis took hold. “COVID has put the sector on the national stage, and as a result, there has been a heavy flow of capital into the space from both investors and lenders,” Schaffer said.

Notable JLL transactions this year include the arrangement of a $400 million construction loan obtained through Barings LLC for the development of Genesis Marina, a 570,000-square-foot life science campus along the waterfront in Brisbane, Calif. The firm also orchestrated $393 million in financing through Apollo Global Management Inc. for the redevelopment of the Manhattan office building at 125 West End Ave. into a life science facility.

However, the Greater Boston area remains the top life science hub in the world, which gives local lenders a certain insight into the life sciences market. “Greater Boston’s lending community understands the current supply/demand dynamics as it relates to life science commercial real estate, and how those dynamics have only been exasperated during COVID,” Schaffer added. “Most of the lenders in our community understand the nuances of the product type, and what makes a life science transaction different than a typical office one.”