Rockpoint Buys Back Boston's 100 Summer St. for $260M

Rockpoint Group has bought back its 100 Summer St. office tower in downtown Boston for $260 million at a foreclosure auction held Tuesday afternoon. The existing owner was the only bidder.

The auction took place outside the 32-story building near South Station and lasted 40 seconds. Auctioneer Marianne Sullivan of Sullivan & Sullivan Auctioneers set the opening bid at $260 million. "Fair bidding and fair selling: Are you satisfied? I can say sold for $260 million," Sullivan said as she closed the sale.

The price works out to about $236 per square foot. That is 68% below what Rockpoint paid in late 2019, when it acquired the property for $806 million.

Lender moved to foreclose

Wells Fargo started the foreclosure on the 1.1 million-square-foot building. The bank had provided $470 million in mortgage financing for the 2019 purchase.

The tower was built in 1980. Its lower market price reflects falling occupancy, now 72%, and the weaker appeal of older office buildings that compete for tenants in the post-COVID era. Tenants include SimpliSafe, which leased 150,000 square feet in 2021.

A Rockpoint executive declined to comment after the auction but indicated the company would issue a statement. Rockpoint is based in Back Bay and is a privately held investor in a range of commercial real estate types.

Third distressed sale since 2025

Banker & Tradesman described the sale as the third high-profile sale of distressed real estate in Boston since early 2025. In the other two, lenders took the properties back.

In March, a lender bought a 7-acre block off Dorchester Avenue in South Boston for $75 million. It chose The HYM Investment Group to represent it in permitting for a large development proposal. In 2025, lender DivcoWest acquired the 32-story One Lincoln tower for $400 million after foreclosing on the property, which Fortis Property Group owned.

Source: Banker & Tradesman