JLL arranges $230M financing for Somerville life sciences development

BOSTON, August 15, 2022 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged a $230 million construction loan for the development of 15 McGrath Highway, a speculative life sciences development totaling 262,000 square feet in Somerville, Massachusetts.

JLL worked on behalf of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Leggat McCall Properties and Deutsche Finance America to secure the non-recourse construction loan with Oxford Properties Group.

With a projected completion in late 2024, 15 McGrath Highway will be a nine-story, state-of-the-art life sciences facility positioned adjacent to East Cambridge and within walking distance of the MBTA’s new Lechmere Station along the Green Line. The project will incorporate lab, retail and office/arts space with typical floorplates of 34,000 square feet. In addition, 15 McGrath Highway will offer 265 below-grade parking spaces and the project abuts the recently extended Somerville Community Path for bikes and pedestrians.

The project is at the crossroads of Kendall Square, one of the nation’s tightest life sciences markets, and Cambridge Crossing, a multi-building life sciences campus. This location provides the property with access to a highly educated workforce and proximity to world-class institutions, including MIT and Harvard University. Additionally, 15 McGrath Highway has tremendous connectivity to Interstate 93, the Massachusetts Turnpike, Boston Harbor, Logan International Airport and the MBTA Green Line extension.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Brett Paulsrud, Senior Director Henry Schaffer and Associate Mike Shepard.

“Greater Boston continues to be ranked among the top life sciences markets in the world,” Paulsrud said. “As a result, liquidity for projects with best-in-class sponsorship and location, such as 15 McGrath, remains intact and active.”

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 a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners is an independent real estate investment management firm focused on acquiring assets in gateway neighborhoods of major US cities. DLJ RECP invests in real estate assets that are positioned to become high quality, engaging and resilient properties, and manages those assets with a hands-on approach to create and enhance value on behalf of investors.

Leggat McCall Properties is a full-service development company in the business of delivering complex real estate projects as investors, project managers, and advisors. LMP has been an integral part of the Greater Boston real estate landscape since 1965.

Deutsche Finance America is the US real estate private equity platform of the Munich-based Deutsche Finance Group. Deutsche Finance Group (“DFG”) is a global investment management firm that specializes in private market real estate and infrastructure investments. Active since 2005, the firm has a reputation for harnessing emerging talent and accessing differentiated investment opportunities. DFG currently oversees more than $11 billion in AUM and serves a network of 30,000 German retail investors and six German insurance companies, including the largest German public pension fund, BVK. The group is headquartered in Munich and has offices in London, Denver, Zurich and Luxembourg, employing more than 120 people. DFG is privately owned and regulated by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany, BaFin.