One Lincoln (State Street Building)

[bigpicture7]

Some rather big news:

One Lincoln Office Tower Headed to Auction

Lenders scheduled a real estate auction for the 1.1 million-square-foot One Lincoln tower in Boston, in the biggest example of fallout from the downtown office market’s post-pandemic distress.

bankerandtradesman.com

Lenders are calling time on this tower, with an auction planned for March 20. A source tells us the senior loan debt of $765 million, with $145 million in floating-rate mezzanine financing.

Occupancy took a big hit when State Street left and was only partially replaced by HarborVest and law firm Sherin and Lodgen, then again in November when WeWork dropped from not-quite-a-quarter of the building down to just three floors as part of its bankruptcy.

So far it's the first office tower downtown to wind up headed for auction this cycle.

For context: Boston’s 77.6 million-square-foot office market had a 19.5 percent vacancy rate at the end of 2024, according to a report released this week by brokerage Hunneman. Vacancies among class A buildings were 15.5 percent.

Unfortunate/interesting. Per upthread, when they announced refinancing in 2022, it was stated they were going to pump $200M back into the building for upgrades/enhancements. I wonder if that cash already got sunk into the building, or if that hadn't even started yet at this point.

 

[Justbuildit]

It is very much under construction at least at ground level. There are construction fences and I believe the facade at some of the ground level area has been off for some time. I was under the impression it was well underway with its renovation. There were some splashy ads about amenities including roof deck, dining space, etc.

Clearly not yet at bottom...


EDIT: see below...

One Lincoln

www.onelincolnboston.com

 

[Longfellow]

Unfortunate/interesting. Per upthread, when they announced refinancing in 2022, it was stated they were going to pump $200M back into the building for upgrades/enhancements. I wonder if that cash already got sunk into the building, or if that hadn't even started yet at this point.

A lot of it is going to amenities. Apparently three bars are being installed or have been installed. That’s what I’ve been hearing.

 

[themissinglink]

One of Boston’s skyline-defining towers is on the auction block — and expected to sell at a big discount - The Boston Globe

Five years after COVID upended the city’s office market, a long-delayed reckoning on the value of office towers is coming.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Justbuildit]

One bid, less than two minutes, and down it goes. Purchased for $400M at a sidewalk auction. Massive write down from the $1B refinancing in 2022. Let the great reset continue to spread...

Downtown Boston office tower One Lincoln fetches $400 million at auction - The Boston Globe

In a first, a downtown Boston skyscraper was sold at auction on the sidewalk.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[JohnAKeith]

It's the classic game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" .. which we haven't seen since .. before the Millennium, at least in Boston.

Ouch.

 

[themissinglink]

From massage chairs to rooftop basketball, two-thirds empty downtown tower invests $100 million to woo tenants - The Boston Globe

Downtown office tower hopes to bring people back to the office with fancy re-do.

www.bostonglobe.com

A massage chair that can take you to zero G on your lunch break. Dyson hairdryers in the locker rooms and a tenants-only whiskey bar. A rooftop basketball and pickleball court in the middle of downtown Boston.
These are just some of the $100 million in amenities that building owner DivcoWest has installed at the 1.1 million-square-foot One Lincoln St. tower since acquiring it for $400 million at foreclosure auction this spring. The San Francisco-based real estate investment firm is hoping the upgrades will lure tenants to fill 730,000 square feet of vacant space at the Financial District tower.
[...]
DivcoWest launched into upgrades, replacing generators and other intensive mechanical equipment State Street had used to power data centers and trading floors with two stories worth of amenity space mid-building. Today, the 7th and 8th floors feature a game room with darts, a billiards room, and sports simulators, along with a full-size basketball and pickleball court outside. (The court is netted on all sides to prevent a rogue ball from escaping onto the street below.)
The upgrades often resemble high-end hotel and spa rather than office space, with multiple massage rooms, a salon with Olaplex hair products, and two executive changing suites with full shower and lounge zones to refresh after a long travel day.