B
oston's commercial real estate market is witnessing a trend of major building auctions, with three high-profile properties heading to the auction block in recent months. The latest property up for grabs is a vacant office building and parcel of land at Two and Six Charlesgate West and 1161 Boylston Street. Scheduled to be auctioned off on August 12, 2025, the site spans 56K SF of vacant office space and 20K SF of vacant land.

    The property was purchased by London-based student housing developer Scape in 2019 for $39 million, with plans to redevelop it into multifamily housing. However, after receiving a $30M acquisition loan from Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies, Scape partnered with Morro USA to explore alternative financing options due to the project's stalled development.

    A 28-story, 400-unit development was approved by the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals earlier this year, but Morro Chief Development Officer David Hunt stated that they are actively discussing refinancing alternatives with other lenders and strategic partners. This is not an isolated case, as a 70-unit apartment building in West Roxbury owned by DivcoWest is also scheduled for an August auction, while a Wellesley office complex owned by Beacon Capital Partners was listed for a July 17 auction.

    The question remains whether Boston's commercial property market is entering a new phase of distress or if these are isolated cases of shifting investment strategies.