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A real estate fund affiliated with the AFL-CIO has acquired the ground lease on 177 Huntington Ave. in Boston’s Christian Science Plaza for $137.5 million.
The 26-story, 200,000-square-foot tower designed by I.M. Pei & Partners is the former First Church of Christ, Scientist administration building. It was previously ground-leased to Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners, which oversaw a capital improvement program including an updated lobby, canopy and lighting.
The 2014 departure of online retailer Wayfair’s headquarters to Copley Place left 12 floors available in the building, which is anchored by Northeastern University. The occupancy rate has risen to 100 percent after the arrival of new tenants including the local office of Portland, Oregon developer Gerding Edlen.
Coleman Benedict and Ben Sayles of HFF’s Boston office facilitated the latest transaction. Beacon Capital bought the original ground lease in 2012 for $59 million.
The new lessee, BIT Investment Ninety-One LLC, is affiliated with the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust which owns nearly $5 billion in commercial real estate throughout the U.S.
