Dealmaker: JLL Arranges $230M For Massachusetts Life Sciences Development

JLL Capital Markets, Chicago, arranged a $230 million construction loan for 15 McGrath Highway, a speculative life sciences development totaling 262,000 square feet in Somerville, Mass.

JLL Capital Markets Senior Managing Director Brett Paulsrud, Senior Director Henry Schaffer and Associate Mike Shepard represented DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Leggat McCall Properties and Deutsche Finance America on the transaction. They placed the non-recourse loan with Oxford Properties Group.

When it delivers in late 2024, 15 McGrath Highway will be a nine-story facility adjacent to East Cambridge within walking distance of the MBTA Green Line’s new Lechmere Station and the recently extended Somerville Community Path for bikes and pedestrians. The project will incorporate lab, retail and office/arts space with typical floorplates approaching 34,000 square feet.

15 McGrath Highway will occupy the crossroads of Kendall Square, one of the nation’s tightest life sciences markets, and Cambridge Crossing, a multi-building life sciences campus. The location will give the future occupier access to a highly educated workforce and proximity to universities including MIT and Harvard University. The location also allows connectivity to Interstate 93, the Massachusetts Turnpike, Boston Harbor and Logan International Airport.

“Greater Boston continues to be ranked among the top life sciences markets in the world,” Paulsrud said. “As a result, liquidity for projects with best-in-class sponsorship and location, such as 15 McGrath, remains intact and active.”