American Realty Advisors has acquired the 400,000-square-foot retail segment of the University Station development in Westwood for $206 million from a partnership including Boston-based New England Development.
A Wegmans supermarket anchors the retail space within the 130-acre property, which opened in March 2015.
The portfolio generates 95 percent of its income from national tenants, with average terms for in-place leases of 15 years.
“Our focus on acquiring assets in supply constrained markets which are transit oriented and unique is represented by our ability to acquire University Station as part of our core investment strategy,” Martha Shelley, senior portfolio manager at American Realty Advisors, said in a statement.
New England Development will continue as management and leasing agent for the retail center and lead the remaining buildout, according to a statement.
Approximately 1.1 million square feet of the 2.1-million-square-foot master plan for the property has been completed, including 525,000 square feet of retail space, a 125,000-square-foot Life Time Fitness center, the 350-unit Gables apartment complex and 64-unit Bridges by Epoch Senior Living assisted-living facility.
Construction of a 130-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel began in July with a projected opening in fall 2017. The balance of the project will include office, retail and residential space.
Robert Griffin Jr. of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, formerly with Cushman and Wakefield, represented the seller, Westwood Marketplace Holdings LLC.
The acquisition does not include the Target property, which the discounter acquired in February 2014 for $11 million.
The redevelopment of an aging industrial park was originally conceived as a larger 4.5-million-square-foot mixed-use project in 2005 led by Boston-based Cabot, Cabot & Forbes. A partnership including New England Development, National Development, Charles River Realty Investors and Clarion Partners acquired the long-stalled development in 2012 after lender Anglo Irish Bank Corp. exited the project.
In January, state officials approved a $10-million tax-exempt bond through the state’s Infrastructure Investment Incentive Program to pay for roads and utilities at University Station.
The state’s MassWorks infrastructure program provided $2.5 million to the town of Westwood in 2013 to widen the University Avenue and Canton Street intersection, install new turning lanes, and build new drainage, landscaping and ornamental street lighting.
Glendale, California-based American Realty Advisors has $7.5 billion in assets under management.
