This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
Related Beal received approval from the Boston Planning & Development Agency for its $1.2B, three-building life sciences development on the site of a former parking lot, adding to a series of projects planned along the Fort Point Channel.
The 6.5-acre site at 244-284 A St. is slated to become a 1.1M SF mixed-use development, the Boston Globe reported. The development, named Channelside, is planned to include 340 apartment units, 68 of which will be affordable. A second building would include 480K SF of life sciences space, and a third would feature 322K SF of commercial space.
“The key, really, for organizations to bring employees back to the workplace is providing engaging, immersive, experiential environments, and Channelside oozes with the opportunity to do that,” Stephen Faber, executive vice president at Related Beal, told the Globe.
The site is next to Gillette's World Shaving Headquarters and will bring, along with the three buildings, a park and a public performing arts amphitheater to the community.
Due to the flood-prone nature of the site, Related will need a license from the state to raise it up 6 feet to cope with rising sea levels. The project has gone through changes since first proposed in 2019, including adding more affordable housing.
Along with Channelside, the area has a $700M research center for Eli Lilly & Co. under construction, and CRISPR Therapeutics' new U.S. headquarters opened earlier this month at 105 West First St.
SALES
East Boston Community Development Corp. acquired a $47M portfolio of 36 buildings spread across East Boston. It was backed by Mayor Michelle Wu and numerous other community investors in an effort to create the state's first Mixed-Income Neighborhood Trust. The city invested $12M into the trust, including $9M from the American Rescue Plan Act, $2M from the CARES Act and $1M in Inclusionary Development Policy funding.
The seller in the deal was a joint venture between The Grossman Cos. and Hodara Real Estate Group. The joint venture was represented by JLL's Kellie Coveney, Jacqueline Meagher, Madeline Joyce and James Burr.
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Boston-based Greatland Realty Partners and Long Wharf Capital acquired two properties in Lexington for $34.2M. The firm bought 25 Hartwell Ave., a 33K SF property on 4.1 acres, for $17.9M. And it bought 40 Hartwell Ave., a 30K SF property on 7 acres, for $16.3M. The seller was Duffy Properties, which renovated the two properties and another in 2016.
LEASES
Berkeley Investments and its project partner, Singerman Real Estate, secured three leases totaling almost 100K SF at its Exchange 200 lab project in Malden. The largest lease was signed by Discovery Life Sciences, which took on 53K SF in a plan to expand from its Huntsville, Alabama, location. The other two leases were signed by Outer Biosciences, which will occupy 15K SF, and an advanced materials technology company that wasn't named, which will occupy 22K SF.
These three companies will make up slightly less than one-third of the 350K SF in the mixed-use building. The first move-ins are scheduled to take place at the end of this year, and Discovery's new lab is expected to open in 2023.
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Central Rock Gym signed an 18K SF lease with Urban Edge Properties at Fresh Pond Mall in Cambridge. The gym is relocating to double its existing space and take over a former A.C. Moore store. The mall is located on Route 2, and the gym will join other tenants like Whole Foods, Staples and HomeGoods.
EXECS
Michael Grey was named New England market president for property management firm FirstService Residential. As market president, Grey will lead all business efforts and strategic direction for the market, and he will work with the business development team to grow the firm's New England portfolio.
Before joining FirstService Residential, Grey worked for Sodexo, a food and facilities management company, where he served as the North American vice president in the company's K-12 school services segment.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Procopio Cos. completed a 22K SF mixed-use development at 10 Somerset Ave. in Winthrop. The boutique multifamily building, named The Somerset, includes 29 residential units and 1,119 SF of ground-floor retail space. The property was 35% leased as of its opening.
The units range from studios to two-bedroom units between 500 and 1,300 SF. Amenities include private decks, in-unit laundry, a fitness center and a coffee bar. The project was financed through North Shore Bank, and the building is managed by Charlesgate.
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King Street Properties, the developer behind the $915M Allston Labworks project, will host a groundbreaking ceremony at the site Tuesday morning. The event marks the beginning of construction on the 4.27-acre mixed-use project, which will consist of 534K SF of lab space, 20K SF of retail and 35 residential units. The site will also include 12K SF of public plaza space and another 5K SF of open space.
