The Commercial Brokers Association (CBA), a Boston-based organization representing more than 300 members of the commercial brokerage community throughout Massachusetts, selected a national industrial portfolio transaction brokered by the local office of Newmark as its “Investment Sale of the Year” at its annual Achievement Awards ceremony, held March 6 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston.
In the August 2007 transaction, Newmark Managing Principal James Thomson and Director Doug Jacoby, both of the global real estate services provider’s Boston office, represented a Mass.-based real estate investment firm in its sale of an 11.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio to a joint venture headed by a major national REIT.
Apart from its sheer size, what made this transaction unique was its complexity, according to Thomson.
“The properties, which included a number of development parcels and excess land, were scattered across the nation, primarily in secondary markets, which demanded an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the nuances of both the properties and the submarkets,” Thomson said. Additionally, “We had to deal with environmental issues; formulate rational lease-up assumptions for secondary submarkets; document ongoing leases and renewals; conduct the standard physical/structural inspections; and complete sale agreement negotiations, as well as financing.”
“From first offer to closing, Newmark worked furiously for 180 days to generate submarket data, and to understand and effectively explain the factors underlying the value of each property, to make this transaction happen,” added Thomson. “In the end, after almost six months of negotiations, due diligence and work on the project, we finally completed the transaction - one of the largest portfolio sales in New England ever, as well as one of the largest in the nation.”
Newmark is one of the largest independent real estate service firms in the world. Headquartered in New York, Newmark and London-based partner Knight Frank Newmark operate from over 165 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents. Last year, transactions were valued at more than $47.6 billion with annual revenues of over $872 million. With a combined staff of more than 6,300, this major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of owners, tenants, investors and developers worldwide. For further information, visit www.newmarkkf.com.