Boston Realty Advisors Negotiates $16M Harvard Sq. Portfolio Trade

CAMBRIDGE — As predicted by its brokers when first put on the block in January, a portfolio of 53 Harvard Square apartments in two venerable buildings brought suitors from the ends of the earth for a fast and furious process that has resulted in a $16 million sale concluded this week. Boston Realty Advisors’ trade of 48 JFK St. and 115 Mt. Auburn St. for $301,000 per key to Tarragon LLC follows an astounding 200 registrants piqued by the listing that led to 70 actual tours of the units over a three-week span, a record for BRA on an investment opportunity.

“Some of the largest real estate institutions in the world looked at this deal,” marvels BRA founder Jason S. Weissman, joined by partner Christopher D. Sower on a coveted assignment they portended would draw global interest when the listing was first revealed in The Real Reporter on Jan. 27th. The buyer was represented by Ross Duncan-Brown of Hammond Real Estate in Cambridge. Marketed under BRA’s Multi-Housing Investment Sales Division, the apartments which the sellers’ family had held since 1918 were pitched to prospects with Sower as the point man, explains Weissman. “Chris did an outstanding job with it,” he says, while other BRA team members were at the ready for the quick-moving, labor-intensive campaign. Even then, Weissman says his firm gladly reached beyond company walls in finding someone willing to assist. “We’re absolutely pleased as punch to have co-brokered on this,” he says of Duncan- Brown’s participation. “We think that is the best way to ensure we are maximizing proceeds for our clients, and that is why we will co-broker on anything we do, from a $2 million apartment building up to a $20 million portfolio . . . It is a big part of our platform.”

Whatever the formula, The Portfolio in the Square as the 53 apartments came to be known did attract leads from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, says Weissman, although he declined to proffer any specific names. BRA was equally mum on the buyer, not even confirming the acquiring entity, which public records show to be Tarragon LLC. Paula E. Turnbull is listed as manager of the entity. Tarragon had to outgun wizened capital convinced of solid upside in a Harvard Square apartment assemblage, plus the cache of having such a iconic address in one’s quill. “Everybody knows Harvard Square and wants to be a part of it,” observes Weissman, while Sower says he was struck by the eagerness of former Cambridge residents—having come here for college or other reasons—who years later are enamored with the idea of buying into the district. “The emotional attachment and nostalgia for Harvard Square was incredible,” says Sower. “It was definitely there” as a motivation for some bidders.”

The all-cash sale comes roughly a year after Sower joined BRA to launch the multifamily sales operation, one that has already exceeded $60 million in both suburban and core multifamily sales, including several completed this year in the firm’s back yard that includes the Back Bay and Beacon Hill. Clients have featured top real estate investors and landmark properties, but Weissman acknowledges the chance to handle Harvard Square product being made available for the first time in nearly a century became “an unbelievable experience” for the multifamily team. “Being entrusted with this special opportunity was absolutely an honor for us,” he says. “It’s huge, and we’re very pleased with the results we were able to deliver for our clients.”