$8M-Plus Wins Newbury Street Gem In Deal Listed by C&W Retail Team

By Joe Clements
BOSTON—It took awhile, but the savvy owners of 333-335 Newbury St. appear to have gotten anticipated pricing of the 14,000-sf commercial property via a trade topping $8 million that brings a New York retail specialist to the famous shopping street. The figure paid by Boston Blue LLC is in line with estimates market watchers had claimed Samuels & Associates was seeking upon pitching the property in May 2009 through Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group.
C&W Executive Director Geoff Millerd and President Robert E. Griffin Jr. did not respond to phone inquiries on the deal by press deadline, but public records show a $4,764,250.22 result plus assumption of another $3,764.78 in principal remaining on a $4.15 million loan. The instrument had been issued by KeyBank NA in Oct. 2003. “That it did,” one source adds of 333-335 Newbury St. reaching the $8 million figure, or just above $600 per sf. The parties involved are “pleased,” the source conveys, although official comment had not been issued as of press deadline, shortened by the holiday.
Featuring such retailers as Puma and Dunkin’ Donuts, 333-335 Newbury St. is part of an eclectic convoy of historic buildings on the upper end of Newbury Street near Massachusetts Avenue. Constantly in flux from the tenant mix, the strip has been stabilized by a trio of assets owned by Samuels & Associates, with that company having bought 333-335 Newbury St. in June 2000 for $4,250,000. Prevalent in various product types, Samuels & Associates specializes in retail, with Boston’s hulking South Bay Center off Interstate 93 among the many accomplishments. Headquartered at 333-335 Newbury St., the firm presently is on an aggressive campaign to create a CRE beachhead mere blocks west near Fenway Park, where multiple properties have been built or planned, including Trilogy, a luxury residential tower. “They are on fire,” offers one Hub veteran familiar with the company, a group that is led by Steven B. Samuels.
Buyer Boston Blue LLC is an affiliate of Century 21 Department Stores, according to NY corporate records. Principals are Isaac S. Gindi, Raymond Gindi and Ezra Sultan. The buyers do appear to be making their inaugural foray onto Newbury Street, an internationally renowned retail thoroughfare that has seen hundreds of millions of dollars in property sales during the past decade. Consumer cache has lured global brands to the street and attracted the particular ardor of a team consisting of UrbanMeritage and Taurus Investments that now owns nearly two dozen properties in the district.
Newbury Street has been on a vicious rollercoaster ride since the recession hit town in mid 2008, leading to darkened doorways and slumping sales. But after a shaky beginning to 2010, Newbury Street has righted itself quicker than expected, leading to a brisk third quarter of property leasing and sales transactions, including 342 Newbury St. selling for $2.1 million on October 27th, as relayed previously in The Real Reporter.
As for Samuels, the harvesting of 333-335 Newbury St. follows up on the firm’s flip of 329 Newbury St. in Dec. 2008 for $8.5 million—or $1,270 per sf— having acquired the building for $3.8 million one year earlier. The trade of 333-335 Newbury St. managed to take substantially longer, but seemingly has concluded with the expected outcome despite the harsh environment. Besides Millerd and Griffin, other members of the C&W team handling the successful sale included Michael d’Hemecourt and principal Edward C. Maher Jr.