A German investment firm’s bet on Boston-area life sciences real estate has gone about as badly as it possibly could. Deutsche Finance Group’s US commercial real estate fund, the Deutsche Finance Investment Fund 17, Club Deal Boston II, is preparing to file for insolvency after its sole investment, a 289,000-square-foot lab and office building in Somerville, Massachusetts, failed to attract a single tenant.
The fund raised approximately $58 million from 1,187 investors, most of them German retail participants. They’re now looking at a total economic loss.
One building, zero tenants, complete wipeout
The property at 101 South Street sits within the Boynton Yards development in Somerville, just outside Boston.
The fund’s net asset value collapsed by 59% in 2024 alone. That was before the final shoe dropped: Deutsche Finance now expects investors to lose the entirety of their equity in the vehicle.
