Société Générale Provides $94M Refi for Boston-Area Life Sciences Property
Clarion Partners purchased Linx, a 185,000-SF life sciences building, in 2018
By Brian Pascus September 30, 2024 4:52 pm
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Clarion Partners has secured a $94 million loan to refinance Linx, a 185,000-square-foot, Class A life sciences property that opened six years ago in Watertown, Mass., a suburb of about 35,000 people eight miles west of Downtown Boston.
Société Générale provided the five-year loan under the direction of Managing Director Tim Hallock, while the JLL Capital Markets debt advisory team of Riaz Cassum, Amy Lousararian and Robyn King arranged the financing.
Cassum noted in a statement that Watertown’s East End submarket in particular is “a key life sciences sector,” even as the overall sector softens amid excess supply.
“Ongoing investment and redevelopment in the immediate vicinity by several major institutional investors validates this submarket’s presence on the national life sciences stage,” said Cassum.
Located at 490 Arsenal Way, Linx is a two-story glass building that features a 33-foot-high lobby and storage space for 78 bikes. Other amenities include locker rooms with showers, a bocce court, an outdoor fire pit, an electric vehicle charging station with 12 EV docks, on-site parking with 195 spaces, and a shuttle program for employees of tenants.
The building was fully leased upon opening in 2018, and Clarion Partners acquired the property one year later. Today it remains fully leased to three tenants: C4 Therapeutics, Addgene and Tectonic Therapeutic.
With its proximity to Downtown Boston and the university corridor in neighboring Cambridge, rents for life sciences space in Watertown have increased by approximately 35 to 40 percent over an 11-quarter period, according to Clarion Partners.
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com
