News
Mixed-Use Challenging, But...
July 29, 2010
| New England Development has achieved something rare these days: bank financing and groundbreaking. A few weeks ago, shovels hit earth on a 650k SF shopping center in Northborough. In the next 30 days, chairman Steve Karp expects to move ahead on the region's largest mixed-use project: Westwood Station, permitted for 4.5M SF. Yet he warns, in this economy mixed-use is especially difficult. |
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| We snapped Steve and son Douglass, a New England Development EVP, in their Newton office: HQ for their retail, mixed-use, resort, hotel, and investment teams. Steve is confident Northborough Crossing will be a winner. Why? We've heard it before . location . and it still counts. The 125-acre site near the Westborough line is at the junction of Rt. 20 and Rt. 9, a strong retail corridor, and accessible to the east Worcester market. |
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| Steve says, Northborough has tenants that will bring shoppers back three times a week (grocery stores), including family-owned Wegman's first Massachusetts store. Even in a recession, people have to eat, he says. We snapped key players in the leasing effort,Armen Aftandilian and Carol Carbonaro. After a year's work, Northborough is 80% leased, 15 months before any occupant moves in. And in September Avalon Bay will complete construction on the project's residential component, Avalon Northborough, 382 apartments that are 95% leased. Last month in Chevy Chase, just outside DC, NED filled out its 1.1M SF Wisconsin Place mixed-use project when Whole Foods Market opened. |
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| Steve Fischman is a longtime partner and company president who's working with Steve and the team on the ambitious Westwood Station, permitted for 4.5M SF. "We'll probably build 2.5M SF in phases," Steve Karp says. Construction has been delayed by "issues with the financial partners," a problem he expects to resolve in the next 30 days with construction to start next spring or earlier. Giant for Massachusetts, it will have 1M SF of retail, 1k residential units, 1.5M SF of office space and two hotels. The company is also developing in Plymouth, The Pinehills, a 3k acre master-planned community with three golf courses and 2,500 residents so far. On the South Boston waterfront at Pier 4, NED has planned 1M SF of retail, residential, hotel, and office that's not yet ready to go given market conditions. |
