$119.2M refinancing arranged for Boston-area life sciences property
BOSTON, Aug. 18, 2025 – JLL Capital Markets announced today it has arranged a $119.15 million refinancing for 500 Forge, a Class A life sciences property totaling 158,683 square feet in Watertown, Massachusetts.
JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, affiliates of Boylston Properties and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to secure a $94 million senior loan through Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and a $25.2 million mezzanine loan through Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P. The mezzanine loan marks Tishman Speyer’s first investment through its recently established credit platform.
500 Forge was fully redeveloped in 2023 into a LEED Gold-certified building featuring 60% R&D lab space and 40% office. The asset features 15- to 18-foot ceiling heights, outdoor balconies, covered parking, a bike room and showers rooms. 500 Forge is fully leased to three tenants, including Mariana Oncology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis, Orna Therapeutics and AvenCell Therapeutics.
500 Forge is part of Arsenal Yards, a new mixed-use development in East Watertown, anchored by more than one million square feet of shops and eateries, a vibrant life science campus across three state of the art lab buildings, high-end apartment residences, a Hampton Inn by Hilton hotel, and a revitalized park providing direct access to the Charles River. East Watertown is a premier life sciences cluster and home to many of the world’s leading life sciences and pharmaceutical firms. Just seven miles west of Downtown Boston via I-90, Arsenal Yards offers a shuttle service connecting 500 Forge to the Harvard Square MBTA Red Line subway station and is adjacent to the Charles River Bike Path, providing convenient commuting options throughout the city.
JLL’s Capital Markets Debt Advisory team representing the borrower was led by Brett Paulsrud, Henry Schaffer and Geoff Goldstein.
“Despite the broader headwinds facing the life science sector, 500 Forge underscores the reality that lenders remain committed to backing best-in-class assets and Sponsors,” said Paulsrud. “High-quality opportunities continue to attract capital, even in a more discerning market environment.”
JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.
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About JLL
For over 200 years, JLL (NYSE: JLL), a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company, has helped clients buy, build, occupy, manage and invest in a variety of commercial, industrial, hotel, residential and retail properties. A Fortune 500® company with annual revenue of $23.4 billion and operations in over 80 countries around the world, our more than 112,000 employees bring the power of a global platform combined with local expertise. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAYSM. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.
About Boylston Properties
Boylston Properties is a Boston-based real estate developer with four decades of experience creating mixed-use places across retail, residential, hotel, corporate, and life science. Their distinctive projects are shaping Greater Boston’s new urban landscape — most notably Arsenal Yards in Watertown, a 1M+ square foot mixed-use destination and growing hub for leading life science companies. Learn more at www.boylstonproperties.com.
About J.P. Morgan Asset Management
J.P. Morgan Asset Management is a global leader in alternatives, with over 60 years of experience managing alternative investments, including real estate, private equity, private credit, liquid alternative products, infrastructure, transport, hedge funds, and forestry. As of June 30, 2025, J.P. Morgan oversees more than $400 billion in alternative assets.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with assets under management of $3.8 trillion (as of 6/30/2025), is a global leader in investment management. J.P. Morgan Asset Management's clients include institutions, retail investors and high net worth individuals in every major market throughout the world. J.P. Morgan Asset Management offers global investment management in equities, fixed income, real estate, hedge funds, private equity and liquidity. For more information, visit: www.jpmorgan.com/am.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America ("U.S."), with operations worldwide. JPMorganChase had $4.6 trillion in assets and $357 billion in stockholders' equity as of June 30, 2025. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally.
Tishman Speyer
Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in approximately 40 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Our portfolio spans market rate and affordable residential communities, premier office properties and retail spaces, industrial and data center facilities, and mixed-use campuses. We create state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties joint venture, and foster innovation through our strategic proptech investments. With global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends and proactively anticipate our customers’ evolving needs. By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened placemaking and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO, and our flexible space and co-working brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 573 properties, totaling 232 million square feet, with a combined value of $131 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco.