This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
Greatland Realty Partners and Rockwood Capital received financing for Riverside Labs, a life sciences campus in Weston.
The loan was arranged by Newmark and provided by Royal Bank of Canada, which has committed $150M in total financing for the project.
The project is planned to have 340K SF and will include three buildings: 9, 15 and 20 Riverside. The first building will be ready for occupancy in summer 2023. The site is a former Liberty Mutual office complex that the joint venture acquired in 2019 for $26M, the Boston Business Journal reported.
“Riverside Labs has experienced exceptional leasing demand in recent months," Newmark Executive Managing Director Timothy O’Donnell said in a press release. “This activity is a testament to its premier sponsorship, transformative vision for a modern life science campus and unrivaled access and visibility in a burgeoning laboratory cluster.”
Newmark’s David Douvadjian Sr., O’Donnell, Brian Butler, David Douvadjian Jr., Conor Reenstierna and Robert Griffin represented the borrower in securing the financing.
Greatland Realty bought another suburban asset last month, acquiring two buildings in Lexington in partnership with Long Wharf Capital.
LEASES
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company acquired by Pfizer earlier this month, leased 27K SF of office and lab space in Cambridge, it revealed Friday in Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The 10-year lease began in October with an option to extend. The filings didn't disclose the address, but a Biohaven spokesperson told Bisnow it leased the space at 245 First St.
The property is a six-story lab building connected to an 18-story tower. The tower's first eight floors are a parking garage, and the rest is commercial office space. In total, the building has 299K SF with tenants including The Forsyth Institute, a dental research center, A&I Financials and Waze Development LLC.
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Five new retailers have signed leases at Assembly Row, Federal Realty announced last week. Athleta and Zwilling J.A. Henckels are set to open in November, and Coach, Aerie and Paper Source have signed leases to open in the next year.
These five retailers add to the growing list of new tenants coming to the center, including Pandora Jewelry, PNC Bank and Tribos Peri Peri. The shopping center will also include a 4K SF dog park later this year and an outdoor fire pit that will be open to public use in the next couple of months.
FINANCING
Massachusetts Housing Partnership and MassHousing announced the launch of MassDREAMS, a grant program to help first-time homebuyers of communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The grants will deliver $50K in assistance, including toward down payments and closing costs, to income-eligible first-time homebuyers.
The homebuyers must reside in one of the 29 communities that were disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, including Boston, Framingham, Randolph and the 26 gateway cities. The program was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and is limited to residents that will obtain a mortgage through MHP or MassHousing.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
General Electric is planning to move out of its Fort Point headquarters, the Boston Globe reported last week. The company plans to vacate the 100K SF office and seek a smaller space in the city. The company also put its corporate campus in Ossining, New York, up for sale, marking a major shift in the company.
These downsizing efforts are part of GE’s bigger plan in the next year to split the company into three entities: GE HealthCare, GE Vernova and GE Aerospace. It isn't clear if GE plans to sublease the two renovated brick buildings at 5 Necco St. in Fort Point or if it will work out an exit deal with the building owner.
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The Innes Redevelopment team, led by Joseph J. Corcoran Co. and John M. Corcoran & Co., broke ground on Innes Apartments, its 350K SF redevelopment in Chelsea. The co-developers were joined by Marcus Partners and Cambridge Savings in partnership with Chelsea Housing Authority. The total investment into the development was $155M.
The team plans to demolish the former Innes Public Housing Development and provide 96 new public housing units for the existing residents. It will also add 40 more units of middle-income housing for new families and 194 market-rate apartments near public transportation. The site will also include retail space for tenants.
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Lincoln Property Co. and Stockbridge broke ground on a 176K SF industrial warehouse in Wrentham. The team purchased the 34-acre site earlier this year, marking the fifth joint venture between the two firms. The warehouse will be located at 404 Green St., near the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.
The warehouse will include 35 dock doors, 33 trailer parking spaces, 60-foot speed bays and a 130-foot truck court. LPC’s Ellison Patten and James Tambone will be the exclusive leasing team for the development.
