NAI/Hunneman Effort Reaps $4.4M for Client

BROOKLINE — Talk about springing forward. Capping off a busy start to 2012 that resulted in CRE closings across metropolitan Boston for various owners, the NAI/Hunneman team of Carl Christie, Daniel McGee and Henry Lieber feted the change of seasons by finalizing a $4.4 million multifamily trade in the heart of Coolidge Corner.

The all-cash transaction involving 19 apartment and retail units at 385-389 Harvard St. comes on the heels of a Brookline multifamily sale last month negotiated by the prolific pair of brokers who are part of NAI/Hunneman’s expanding capital markets group. The May deal yielded $6.0 million in the disposition of 50-54 Kent St. “Brookline is on the top of everyone’s list,” Christie reports, although NAI/Hunneman is also active in other high-end neighborhoods, including Boston’s Beacon Hill, the Back Bay and Fenway.

Launched in late 2010, the Harvard Street listing took longer to conclude than expected when the initial winning bidder had to back out at the last moment. The next suitor quickly filled the void, a move that Christie says is not surprising given the tight multifamily market throughout Greater Boston.

Even in sharing their geographic pedigree, the Harvard Street and Kent Street opportunities did have marked differences, notes Christie. The earlier sale involved a fully occupied property sporting a rare, treasured feature—dozens of off-street parking spots in a town where on-street parking is banned overnight, causing havoc for residents but creating a cottage industry for property owners endowed with legal spaces. Besides increasing its popularity as a housing option, the 26 spaces at 50-54 Kent St. give its owner a dedicated income stream the Harvard Street asset does not possess.

Somehow, that absence and having 13 of its 14 apartments vacant at the time of its sale did not curb enthusiasm for the Harvard Street listing, says Christie, with the final result amounting to a capitalization rate in the mid 5 percent range. The five ground-floor retail units do accrete income in the absence of Kent Street’s attributes, notes Christie. Four of those spaces are presently occupied by tenants on an at-will basis.

According to Christie, “385-389 Harvard St. presented a unique opportunity for an investor to acquire the asset and renovate the interior to fit their preference.” The façade and location “are very attractive,” he reports, and the interior can accommodate a high-end renovation into luxury rentals or condominiums. “Alternatively, with minor renovations the units can be rented ‘As Is’ in a continuation of its previous 50-plus years of rental operations,” says the multifamily specialist.

NAI/Hunneman represented seller Paul and Betty Burlin Revocable TR, and also procured the buyer, 1379 Com LLC. The manager of that entity is Eshagh Sanieoff of Chestnut Hill.

As the mid-year point hits, NAI/Hunneman is looking at a solid opening half, with major multifamily sales in Malden and Newton among the accomplishments for Christie and McGee. While Christie says he was minus expectations to begin the season, he concurs it has been an encouraging start, adding that other deals are in the works throughout Boston and the surrounding suburbs. “We do have a lot of leads,” he says, with business so brisk it has led to a new hire in Lieber to provide financial analysis