Cathartes Private Investments

Portfolio

Case Studies

The Fargo Building

Located at 451 D Street in the emerging South Boston seaport district, The Fargo Building is a 480,000 SF, nine-story property that is now designed to serve both office and telecommunications tenants.

Cathartes bought the property in October 1997. It was a complicated and lengthy purchase, and the building was in extremely poor condition. It had numerous safety code violations, a crumbling façade, dangerous elevators, substandard HVAC and substandard and failing window systems.

We transformed this building into a modern, institutional quality office and telecom facility. Our renovations included two new entrance additions at Fargo and D Streets; installation of two new lobbies; elevator upgrades and replacements; HVAC system upgrades and replacements; all new tenant finishes; a complete façade restoration; all new windows; new electrical system; 25 new bathrooms; new loading dock facilities; new fire and life safety systems; and refurbishment and provision of new lighting for the parking lots.

In addition to performing the capital improvements and renovations, having recognized the market demand for telecommunications services, we put the building ahead of the curve and brought multiple fiber carriers and increased power capacity to the building. This enabled us to attract and capture a strong telecom tenant base.

In March of 2000, we sold The Fargo Building to Yale Properties for 72 million dollars, multiples of our cost basis.

The Fargo Building, 451 D St. South Boston, MA

Innerbelt Road

In late 1997, Cathartes purchased 70 Innerbelt, a 285,000 SF building then used as industrial and warehouse space for Filene's Basement, a national retailer. Situated on 6.2 acres in Somerville, Mass., this warehouse property was only 25% occupied.

Shortly after purchasing the building, we leased the entire first floor to a single major tenant, Hannaford Brothers, and then redeveloped the entire second floor as a telecommunications facility. Keeping the needs of our tenants at the forefront, we brought multiple fiber carriers to the area and substantially increased the available power capacity to the facility.

Recognizing the huge market demand for telecom, we then negotiated and purchased 150-200 Innerbelt, an adjacent 8.46 acre plot that was vacant. We purchased this from Guilford Railroad, and then master-planned the entire site for telecommunications usage. We then designed, permitted and began construction on two 190,000 SF telecom buildings.

By following a disciplined development and disposition strategy, we were able to sell the transformed 70 Innerbelt to a public REIT and the master-planned 150-200 Innerbelt to TrizecHahn Properties during a period of unprecedented demand from institutional buyers.

70 and 150-200 Innerbelt Road, Somerville, MA

Thomson Place

With the undertaking of 55 Thomson Place, Cathartes was able to recognize the emerging Seaport market of South Boston as a major growth segment and leverage our ability to navigate complicated, challenging transactions. We identified and acquired this 80,000 SF building and concurrently negotiated a master lease with a single tenant, Thomson Financial (NYSE:TOC; TSX:TOC), for its world headquarters.

The strategy behind this purchase was to take an under-utilized building and redevelop it on a build-to-suit basis. For more than 30 years, the property formerly known as 44 Stillings Street was home to the manufacturing and office functions of McCarthy Sole and Leather. We gut-renovated the building to Thomson's specifications: including improvements to both the building's infrastructure as well as the tenant space, renovations were valued at more than $8.25 million. One of the original Boston Wharf Company buildings, 55 Thomson Place now continues in the Thomson Financial Services tradition of combining very modern, creative fitout within a historic structure.

Following an extremely rigorous schedule, within eight months of purchase we concluded with all of our renovations and had the building permitted and occupied. Upon completion of the entire development, we sold to TMW Real Estate Group in Atlanta.

55 Thomson Place, South Boston, MA

Fort Point Place

With the development of Fort Point Place, Cathartes once again demonstrated its ability to identify an emerging market need and manage a complicated project from acquisition to disposition within that contextual scope. We partnered with Beacon Capital Partners to manage and develop a 132-unit condominium complex that included both affordable and commercial units.

Located in the pioneering Seaport District of Boston, the property consisted of two brick and beam warehouses built in 1895. With an adaptive re-use approach, we converted the two existing buildings to market rate condominiums while maintaining the industrial aesthetic character of the property. Evidenced throughout are remnants of the building's history: old sconces and artwork from the original warehouses are used in the lobby, original interior finishes are scattered throughout the building and units feature exposed bricks and beams. We added a new core between and thus connecting the two buildings, and added elevators and common areas.

A highly successful project, we sold all the units within eleven months, and the development, which started in September of 2000, was completely sold by the summer of 2001.

Fort Point Place, South Boston, MA