Client’s Challenge

 

One Brattle Square is a class A mixed use property combining quality office space with prominent street retail in the heart of Cambridge’s famed Harvard Square.  HMV Records had vacated a two-floor space, and Eastern Mountain Sports had a sub-lease that was about to expire. KeyPoint Partners (KPP) was presented with a 36,000 square foot, two-level retail space that needed to be dramatically re-configured to optimize GLA for new tenancy. The final layout would maximize occupancy and profit for ownership, and meet the expectations of city officials who were concerned about tenancy in Harvard Square.

 

KeyPoint Partners’ Response

 

Working closely with the project manager and the architect from the earliest stages, the KPP leasing team contributed significant knowledge of both urban retail leasing and the Harvard Square market. The team worked through multiple conceptual plans before finalizing the layout. As re-design and renovation progressed, the leasing team launched a calculated, aggressive marketing campaign promoting the flagship quality of the property and the world-class reputation of the market.  The resulting renovations included demolition of the grand entry and stairway to the second floor, and subdivision of leasable space. A new escalator was installed in a discreet location on the low-visibility side of the building - no easy feat as the building sits directly over the MBTA Red Line, and the escalator’s footprint dips several feet below the first floor. EMS re-signed for most of the second floor. New leases were negotiated with Eastern Bank, GNC, and Citibank, who share street-level storefronts on the Brattle Street side, as well as Chipotle Mexican Grille and Cambridge Eye. One Brattle Square is stabilized with a financially strong tenant mix. The owner’s significant investment in physical improvements to a beloved location, and trust in the KPP team, resulted in a financial win and the revitalization of this premier property.