Rubenstein Partners Acquires Boston-Metro Office Portfolio

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking the initial investment in its second value-added office real estate fund, Rubenstein Partners, a private equity firm providing leading real estate investment management and advisory services in office markets throughout the Eastern United States ("Rubenstein"), today announced the closing of its acquisition of CenterPoint office park on behalf of Rubenstein Properties Fund II, L.P. ("Fund").

CenterPoint, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, is an approximately 500,000 sq. ft. office complex located on approximately 24 acres.  Originally, CenterPoint was developed as a research and development facility, but in recent years has begun a dramatic retrofit into dramatic and engaging "creative class" office space.  CenterPoint features extremely efficient floor plates and high ceilings with an abundance of natural light that are unique to the Waltham market. Such space has seen increased tenant demand from a variety of users including professional service, technology and marketing firms. CenterPoint is also located in a transforming in-fill neighborhood with many retail and residential amenities within walking distance and short drive times to the vibrant town centers of Waltham, Watertown and Newton.

"The suburban office market of Boston, with Waltham at its epicenter, has historically been an exciting place to be and that is no different today, however, there has been in a shift in the types of office space that are in demand. Vibrant, mixed-use neighborhoods with nearby amenities are increasing in appeal at the expense of stand-alone office parks. CenterPoint appears to be positioned perfectly to capitalize on this trend, which we believe will only intensify as more and more tenants look creatively to drive corporate performance through their use of office space," said Deke Schultze, Director of New England for Rubenstein.

Rubenstein purchased CenterPoint through a joint-venture partnership with developer and operator Saracen Properties, which designed and performed the recent renovations. The partnership was drawn to CenterPoint's strategic location in a rapidly improving section of the Route 128 West suburban office submarket of Boston, the strength of the current tenant roster and the quality of the CenterPoint's recent office renovations.

Ted Saraceno, President of Saracen Properties added, "We are extremely excited about the prospects for the future with Rubenstein Partners as we continue to expand the repositioning efforts at CenterPoint. It has been a dramatic transformation to-date, and, with all that is happening in the neighborhood in regards to retail and residential development, we are poised to see this transformation continue into the future."

"The closing of this transaction represents the continued successful execution of our firm's "value-added" strategy.  It was made possible by our continued commitment to penetrate markets throughout a broad geographic area, including gateway markets such as Boston, by leveraging our in-house regional directors in conjunction with local operating partners. We are enthusiastic about the rapidly expanding prospects for future investments of this nature such as CenterPoint", said David Rubenstein, Senior Managing Principal of Rubenstein.

About Rubenstein Partners
Rubenstein Partners, founded in September 2005, is a private real estate investment management and advisory firm with operations throughout the Eastern United States.  The firm is lead by David Rubenstein and a group of senior real estate executives, and is focused on directing and managing value-added office real estate investments, primarily in the Eastern United States.  Rubenstein Partners' predecessor company, The Rubenstein Company, LP was founded in 1969, and was one of the largest private owner operators of Class A office real estate in the Mid-Atlantic, owning and operating a portfolio of assets valued at approximately $1.2 billion at the time of its disposition in 2004.  Since 2005, Rubenstein Partners has, on behalf of its investors, invested in more than 8,500,000 sq. ft. of office real estate assets located in the following markets:  New England; New York Metro, Mid-Atlantic; Midwest and the Southeast.  (www.rubensteinpartners.com).

About Saracen Properties
Saracen Properties is a commercial real estate company providing development, construction, property / asset management and investment acquisition services. Founded in 1982 and based in Waltham, Saracen has developed or acquired over 3,000,000 sq. ft. of office and technology-related facilities in the suburban Boston market. The firm additionally manages over 2,500,000 sq. ft. of space for third-party owners (www.saracenproperties.com).

SOURCE Rubenstein Partners