2012-11-29
| Suffolk University will continue its migration downtown from Beacon Hill, with the construction of a $62M, 112k SF complex with 1,100-classroom seats and a dining hall, the school said Tuesday. | |
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| In recent years, Suffolk has heightened its presence downtown with the development of a new law school building on Tremont St and redevelopment of the Modern Theater in Midtown. Its latest venture, the Chan Krieger Sieniewicz- designed glass and stone building at 20 Somerset St near Government Center, was first approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in ’09. It will prompt the sale of two existing classroom buildings on Beacon Hill. | |
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| Hanover Co broke ground on its $195M, 369-unit multifamily rental building on Pier 4, which brings to 1,101 the number of housing units (valued at nearly $500M) under development at the South Boston Waterfront. We snapped a worker actually making the first cut in the ground a day before the Nov. 16 ceremonial event. Architect ADD Inc designed the 21 story high-rise with nearly 11k SF of retail and underground parking for 258 vehicles. ***AvalonBay Communities is planning to build the Nashua Street Residences, a 38-story, 503-unit apartment tower with parking for 219 vehicles on Nashua Street next to North Station and the TD Garden. The project may be converted into condos depending on market conditions. | |
***Wentworth Institute of Technology has won city approval to build a $43M, 305-bed dorm at 535 Huntington Ave, which will allow the school to house 96% of its students on campus. The seven-story building will have 71 apartment-style dorm units, 68% for single occupancy. ***The Boston Marine Industrial Park has been busy. Boston Ship Repair will expand by 30k SF at 24 Dry Dock Ave for an office and operations center to house some of its 200 employees. Adcotron, an electronics manufacturing contractor, will expand at 12 Channel St to more than 42k SF. Practical Applications, a wastewater management service, won city approval to expand to about 23k SF at 12 Channel St. | |
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| WinnDevelopment celebrated the completion of Loft Five50, 75 loft-style apartments in two buildings on the site of historic Malden Mills in Lawrence, which is still the home of Polartec. The apartments are one, two and two-plus-den units featuring high ceilings, and exposed brick and beam construction. The project team included Keith Construction as GC and The Architectural Team. WinnResidentia l will manage the property. | |
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| Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria met yesterday with Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn who toured a possible site in the town for a new casino. Earlier this year, Steve, who built Vegas venues Bellagio, the Mirage, and Treasure Island, failed to convince the town of Foxborough to support a plan to build a $1B casino on land leased from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. SALES DivcoWest Properties, which has offices in Boston and San Francisco, has paid $106.7M for four Seaport District buildings totaling 373k SF: 313 and 330 Congress St, 51 Sleeper and 300 A St. The seller was a fund controlled by NY-based Brickman Real Estate. HHF’s Coleman Benedict and Ben Sayles repped the seller and found the buyer.
A unit of American Tower Corp reportedly paid $70M to a JV of Deutsche Bank and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp for the antennas atop the 100-story John Hancock Center, another step in a plan to sell off the iconic Chicago building piece by piece. The Boston-based investor closed on this segment of the high-rise last month. Earlier this year, Prudential Real Estate Investors paid nearly $142M for the high-rise's retail and restaurant space, while Paris-based Montparnasse 56 Group paid $45M for the Hancock's observation deck. The building's 705 condos are owned separately. LEASING In Boston, Communications Media Advisors leased 5,340 SF in an HQ relo to 100 City Hall Plaza. Lincoln Properties’ Brendan Miller repped CMA; Colliers International’s Kristin Blount and Lauren Vecchione repped the landlord, Copley Investments.Vittoria Industries North America leased 3,365 SF at 285 Summer St in the Seaport District. LPC’s Brendan Miller and Jesse Flynn repped the tenant and JLL’s Tom O’Regan and Patrick Nugent were at the table for the landlord, Aegean Capital.
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| ValueOptions, a large independent behavioral health and wellness company, leased 6,378 SF at The Tower at Northwoods,222 Rosewood Dr in Danvers. CBRE – NE's David Connolly and Kerry Olson Hawkins repped the landlord, Oasis Northwoods. Ezra Co's Lawson Wilder (working with Studley) repped the tenant. | |
| ***Provident Healthcare Partners leased 6,276 SF at 260 Franklin St in a relo from 183 State St. Cresa Boston’s Rick Lowe and Brandon Leitner repped the tenant. | |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES | |
| Richards Barry & Joyce named Cambridge leasing broker Steven Purpura as a managing partner. He co-founded RBJ in ’01, after working with Trammell Crow and focuses on large mixed-use urban developments. RBJ also named Michael Joyce, another co-founder, as managing partner. Among his many honors are: GBRE’s Landlord of the Year, Top Five Producer, and the Colbert Coldwell Circle award. | |
