Echo Real Estate Capital announced the sale of an on-campus medical outpatient building (MOB) for $9.57 million dollars. The acquirer was not disclosed.
The MOB is approximately 59,000 square feet and is located in Haverhill, Massachusetts on the campus of the 122-bed Lawrence General Holy Family Hospital. The building was roughly 90% occupied at the time of sale by 20 tenants that include Revere Medical, Northeast Rehab, Mobility Bone and Joint Institute and PhyNet Dermatology.
“This was an incredible outcome for a heavy value-add transaction. We acquired the building in 2021 which was a much different investment climate,” said Echo principal Jon Boyajian. “Half-way through our redevelopment plan, Steward Health filed for bankruptcy, and the hospital transitioned ownership to Lawrence General. We fought our way through it signing eight new leases and 21 lease renewals.”
The value-add initiatives completed by Echo included a conversation of lease-hold ownership to fee-simple interest, common area lobby upgrades and minor deferred maintenance repairs. The lender on the property was Chicago-based Wintrust Bank.
“Our investors received a 92% return on equity over a four-year hold period. The S&P 500 returned 48% over that same time. This is a tremendous risk-adjusted return with a hard-asset hedge against inflation. This was a textbook value-add deal for us,” Boyajian added.
According to data in the LevinPro HC database, this transaction marks the 140th MOB deal announced since the start of 2025, and the fourth MOB deal reported in Massachusetts this year. There were 213 MOB transactions announced in 2024 (including four in Massachusetts), and 199 announced in 2023 (including one in Massachusetts).
