Financial District Office Tower Purchased For $280 Million

    BOSTON, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The acquisition of 225 Franklin Street,
Boston, a 33-story office tower located in the heart of the city's downtown
financial district, was announced today by Beacon Properties Corporation
(NYSE: BCN).
    The purchase price was $280 million.  The property contains approximately
930,000 square feet and is nearly 100 percent leased.  The unleveraged return
in the first full year is expected to be 9.1 percent, excluding straight-line
rents.  The purchase price is estimated to be approximately 85 percent of
replacement cost.
    Alan M. Leventhal, president and chief executive officer of Beacon
Properties, stated: "We are very pleased to count 225 Franklin Street among
our office properties in downtown Boston.  Not only are the fundamentals in
the Boston office market exceptional, but 225 Franklin Street is one of the
finest Class A office buildings in the downtown financial district.  This
brings our holdings in the financial district to 14 properties totaling
approximately five million square feet.  There is no stronger office market in
the country today, and with no new construction under way we believe that
market conditions will continue to tighten."
    The downtown Boston office market experienced net absorption of
approximately 400,000 square feet in the first quarter ended March 31, 1997,
according to Spaulding & Slye.  At the end of the quarter, the vacancy rate
was less than five percent, with the rate for Class A properties at
3.4 percent.
    Built in 1966, 225 Franklin Street underwent a $95 million renovation
during the past eight years, including installation of a new electrical system
and a complete upgrade of mechanical systems, elevators, lobbies, roofs and
the exterior plaza of the building.  State Street Corporation occupies
approximately 50 percent of the building, including the first 12 floors, under
a lease which expires in December 2015.
    With the acquisition of 225 Franklin Street, Greater Boston now represents
approximately 42 percent of the net operating income (NOI) of Beacon's
national office portfolio.  The respective percentages for Beacon's five other
target markets are: Atlanta (18%), Washington, D.C. (16%), Chicago (12%), Los
Angeles (6%) and San Francisco (6%).
    Since January 1, 1997, Beacon has invested $641 million in adding
approximately 3.3 million square feet to its nationwide portfolio.  In
addition to 225 Franklin Street, acquisitions have included: Centerpointe
I and II, Fairfax, Virginia, 408,962 square feet; Westbrook Corporate Center,
Westchester, Illinois, 1,106,000 square feet; 10880 Wilshire Boulevard,
Westwood, California, 531,176 square feet; and 175 Wyman Street, Waltham,
Massachusetts, 335,000 square feet (a development project).  Also, in May
1997, Beacon sold its portfolio of office buildings in suburban Philadelphia
for $72.5 million.
    Beacon Properties Corporation is a self-administered and self-managed real
estate investment trust (REIT).  One of the nation's largest office REITs,
Beacon specializes in property ownership, management, leasing, design and
development.  With the purchase of 225 Franklin Street, Boston, the company
currently owns or has an interest in 116 properties totaling approximately
18.6 million square feet.  Further information is available at the company's
Internet site: http://www.beaconproperties.com.
    Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-
looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities law.  Although
Beacon believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance
that its expectations will be achieved.  Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from Beacon's current expectations include
general economic conditions, local real estate conditions, timely releasing of
occupied square footage upon expiration, interest rates, availability of
equity and debt financing and other risks detailed from time to time in the
company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K and annual reports on
Form 10-K.

Link to this page: