Audacy is moving forward with two real estate sales in the Boston area, pending approval by U.S. bankruptcy court. As previously reported by Inside Radio, the company is selling the building that houses its Boston studios and offices for at least $11.1 million; and the tower site for WEEI (850) in Needham, MA, a suburb of Boston, for $3.5 million. The transactions are part of $60 million in planned real estate sales from which it expects to net $44.8 million after taxes are paid.
The first deal is for the building at 83 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway in Boston, that originally was home to CBS Radio’s Boston cluster and has been Audacy Boston’s HQ since the 2017 merger. At closing, on or before March 6, the buyer, identified as 83 Leo Property, will pay Audacy $11.1 million with an additional payment of up to $7 million depending on the market value of the property. According to court papers, Audacy will lease the space back from the buyer for $40,000 per month for two years with plans to relocate to a smaller facility in the future.
In a second deal set to close by Feb. 28, American Tower Systems Corp. is buying the tower site for WEEI at 1555 Central Ave., Needham, MA for $3.5 million. The deal includes an easement agreement that allows Audacy access to the land that is home to three guyed towers on the property, a transmitter building and garage on the property along with access to utilities on the property. Audacy agrees to reimburse ATS for 15% of property taxes on the property. Since 1998, Audacy has leased part of the land to ATS for its own tower facility under a deal that expires in November 2025.
Audacy owns five stations in the Boston market, including sports WEEI-FM & AM (93.7, 850), and AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX.
On Thursday Audacy filed an emergency motion with the court seeking authorization for the sales.
The transactions are part of $60 million in planned sales in the pipeline, from which Audacy expects to net $44.8 million after taxes are paid. The other sales include real estate in or near the Audacy markets of Portland, Buffalo, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Chicago. The plan, which was drafted prior to the bankruptcy, does not include any proposed station spin-offs.
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