North Station's New Gateway; The Deal Sheet

Delaware North and Boston Properties are in early stage planning ofwhat could be a 1.3M SF mixed-use project adjacent to the TD Garden. Bisnow learned that the BRA expectsPhase I to have large scale retail (possibly including a Target and a Stop & Shop) andsees it as a "crown jewel"creating a new streetscape and gateway to a neighborhood undergoing intensive development. (Read more in next week's Bisnow.)The projectstill needs city approval but won a green light from the state in 1989. A generation in the works, it was delayed by the Big Dig and the Great Recession.

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Boston University won city approval for its latest 10-year plan that includes developing a new 350k SF academic building at 130 Bay State Rd; a 165k SF engineering building at 610 and 632 Beacon St and $13M in improvements toComm Ave and Kenmore Square.

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The first 214k SF building at the $563M CitySquare project in Worcester greeted its initial occupants this week when Unum began to move in its 700 employees. The NC-based insurer signed a 17-year lease on the downtown building that was developed by Leggat McCall and Hanover Insurance and sold to Sarasota-based Benderson Development in December for $76M.

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Synergy Investments is developing a $50M, 278-unit rental apartment complex adjacent to the JFK/UMass T Stop that includes 36 affordable units with 143 parking spaces. The two- building complex at 25 Morrissey Blvd,designed by ICON, recently won city approval.

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Evergreen Property is developing a $12.5M residential project at 22-26 West Broadway walking distance from the T stop designed by Utile architects. Evergreen plans to start construction on the six-story, 31-unit project that includes four affordable apartments and 4,000 SF of ground-floor retail in April and have it ready for occupancy summer 14.

Sales

Mack-Cali Realty will pay a Prudential Insurance Co JV $150M for two multifamily buildings with 722 apartments. The Revere and Maldenbuildings (97.2% leased) are: Alterra at Overlook Ridge 1A ($61.3M) and Alterra at Overlook Ridge 1B ($88.7M). Mack-Calis recently acquired Roseland subsidiary developed the properties for the JV in 04 and 08, and has managed them since completion. Mack-Cali CEO Mitchell Hersh says the company expects to secure a mortgage on the property to provide cash on cash yield of at least 9%.

Photo by Eric Gunderson.

A Loews Hotels & Resorts affiliate has agreed to buy The Back Bay Hotel from The Doyle Collection for an undisclosed price in a sale expected to close in February, the NY-based company said yesterday. The building at Berkeley and Stuart streets was built in the 20s as Boston Police Department HQ. In 04, it was redevelopedas a 225-key hotel.

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Inland Real Estate Acquisitions paid Berkeley Investments $29.8M for 15 LaSalle Square, a 135k SF office building in Providence that was recently leased for 12 years to Pawtucket-based Hasbro. CBRE-NEs Alden Anderson and Bill Moylan brokered the sale.

Financing

[caption id="attachment_31288" align="alignnone" ] Photo by Eric Gunderson[/caption]

Lowe Enterprises Investors, a national real estate investment manager, secured up to $33.3 M of non-recourse, floating-rate financing on the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Boston - Bedford Glen and the Embassy Suites Chicago North Shore/Deerfield. CapitalSource provided the financing for the Chicago property and the 281-key Doubletree,a full-service hotel at 44 Middlesex Turnpike. Lowe acquired the hotels for a separate account client in Q4 11. Cushman & Wakefields US Hospitality Groups Jared Kelso and Ernest Lee repped the Lowe affiliate.

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A JV of Calare Properties and Hackman Capital Partners secured $13.7M in financing for 112 Barnum Rd, a 448k SF, Class-A industrial property in Devens, the former Evergreen Solar HQ. The JV acquired the asset last year and was repped in the financing by Colliers Tom Welch and David Douvadjian.

Leasing

In a relo and expansion, the social media marketing agency Pandemic Labs leased 3,911 SF at 77 Summer St. Cresa Bostons Brandon Leitner, who repped the tenant, says they left Allston for downtown to upgrade their space and location. NAI Hunnemans Bonny Doorakian and David Cooney repped the landlord, Synergy Investments.

Exec Moves

Michael McGarty, has joined BONDs Building Division as a senior project manager for thehealthcare team.He has 25 years of construction experience in the healthcare and education. He worked on the construction of the 330k SF Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centers West Campus Clinical Center, a 200k SF expansion at Burlingtons Lahey Clinic, and major projects for Anna Jaques Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, UMass Memorial Health Care and Mt Auburn Hospital. His first BOND project is the Lahey Cogeneration project to install a new four-megawatt gas turbine for electricity and heat.