Real estate firm Rockpoint repurchased its 32-story office tower at 100 Summer Street in Boston for $260 million at a foreclosure auction — a 68% discount from the $806 million it paid in 2019. The sole bidder, Rockpoint acquired the 1.1 million-square-foot building near South Station after defaulting on a $470 million loan from Wells Fargo & Co. The deal highlights the severe devaluation in the office sector post-pandemic, with the tower carrying a 28% vacancy rate, well above the neighborhood average. Tenants include SimpliSafe Inc., Veeva Systems Inc., and Bloomberg LP.
Mark Fallon, director at Hunneman, noted the discount reflects Rockpoint's purchase near the market peak and warned more such deals are likely. Despite downtown Boston office vacancies stabilizing at 18.5%, average asking rents have fallen for four straight quarters to $66.12 per square foot. Rockpoint plans to invest in upgrades, including a roof deck and ground-floor retail, financed through equity and debt.
The auction, held on the sidewalk with over 60 attendees, lasted longer for the property description than the bidding. The transaction underscores a trend where lenders increasingly become owners at foreclosure, as seen in other recent Boston tower auctions.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing