This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
The Davis Cos. filed plans last week to turn the former site of the Boston Skating Club in Allston into over 500 multifamily units and a 195-room hotel.
Davis bought the site for $26.5M in 2018 as the skating club planned to move to Norwood, The Boston Globe reported. After the move, Davis first proposed a housing project for the site in January 2020.
The latest plans call for three residential buildings totaling 528 units: an 18-story apartment tower at 1240 Soldiers Field Road, a 10-story condo building and an eight-story all-affordable residential building that is a mix of apartments and condos. Davis also plans to redevelop the Studio Allston Hotel at 1234 Soldiers Field Road.
The affordable component is planned in partnership with Allston Brighton Community Development Corp. and Community Builders Inc. The development was designed by RODE Architects and OJB Landscape Architecture.
The developer aims to break ground on the 582K SF project by the end of 2023, according to the Globe. The property will also include a courtyard facing Western Avenue, two dog runs and street-level retail.
The filings come after the city approved a new rezoning plan that set development goals for Western Avenue and Soldiers Field Road in Allston-Brighton.
SALES
MetLife Investment Management acquired Burlington BioCenter for $103M from joint venture The Gutierrez Co. and GEM Realty Capital. The 109K SF Burlington lab building was converted from office and leased within the last three years to Ultivue, CANbridge and Protagene.
Newmark's Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, Samantha Hallowell, David Douvadjian Sr. and Timothy O’Donnell worked on the deal and helped secure financing for MetLife.
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JNR Management Inc. acquired two hotel properties in Norwood and Framingham for a combined $26.6M. The Newton-based company bought the 125-room Residence Inn Boston Framingham for $15.8M and the 96-room Residence Inn Boston Norwood/Canton for $10.8M from Apex Capital Investment Corp.
In a long-term franchise agreement with Marriott International Inc., the company plans to renovate the two hotels’ guest rooms, common spaces and exterior designs. JLL’s Alan Suzuki and Matthew Enright represented Apex in the deal.
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The RAM Cos. acquired a 92K SF industrial property in Billerica in a sale-leaseback deal with the seller, Iron Mountain. RAM bought the property at 95 High St. for $14.5M and agreed to lease the property back to the information management firm for six years.
The property sits on 18 acres near Routes 3 and 495 and includes heights ranging from 28 feet to 45 feet as well as 10 loading docks. RAM plans to improve the property over the next nine months including paint, pavement and landscaping. RAM’s Mark Campbell led the acquisition for the firm, and JLL’s Michael Restivo and Lenny Pierce represented Iron Mountain.
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DH Property Holdings acquired its fourth industrial property in the Greater Boston area, a 70K SF facility on a 4-acre site at 54 Bodwell St. in Avon, the firm told Bisnow. Property records show it bought the site for $8M.
The site was formerly owned and occupied by Brockton Furnace & Duct Distributors Inc. It is located in the same industrial park as 61 Strafello Drive, another DHPH site. The deal increase's DH's total capitalization in the area to $120.3M with over 433K SF in its portfolio. Colliers International's Ovar Osvold will be handling leasing for 54 Bodwell St.
LEASES
Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. added 107K SF to its lease at The Hayden Research Campus in Lexington. The pharmaceutical company already occupies 90K SF at 75 Hayden Ave., and the new space is located at 65 Hayden Ave.
King Street Properties and Healthpeak Properties jointly own the campus, a 37-acre science and research center off Route 2 and I-95. In September 2020, the joint venture announced that its 75 Hayden Ave. building was fully leased. Dicerna occupies additional space in Lexington beyond the campus, and the latest lease brings its footprint in the town to more than 275K SF.
FINANCING
Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Housing and Economic Opportunity and Inclusion invested $1.7M into Humphreys Street Studios in Dorchester, a collection of three dozen artist-owned and operated workspaces in a 26K SF property. With the investment, the HSS also plans to develop an empty lot on the property into 10 below-market, income-restricted housing units.
New Atlantic Development helped arrange the acquisition with other financing from nonprofit BlueHub Capital and LISC. The city of Boston’s financing was made available through the American Rescue Plan, Inclusionary Development Policy and Housing Boston 2030 funds.
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Boston-based private equity firm Jones Street Investment Partners secured $179M in financing for the development of apartment projects in Kittery and Brunswick, Maine, and Manchester, New Hampshire. The projects will total 700 units.
Jones Street received a $70M loan from Key Bank for its 282-unit Seacoast Residences in Kittery along with $7.9M in preferred equity. It secured a $36M loan from Bangor Savings Bank for its 181-unit multifamily community in Brunswick and a $65.1M loan from Berkshire Bank for its 250-unit community in Manchester. Colliers helped arrange the loans and preferred equity.
EXECS
High Street Residential hired Carolyn Hewitt as senior vice president for multifamily development in Boston. Hewitt will be responsible for executing multifamily development throughout Greater Boston for High Street, the residential subsidiary of Trammell Crow.
Hewitt joins the company from The NRP Group, where she worked for the past five years as vice president of development. At NRP, she helped develop more than 800 multifamily units in Boston. She also worked in management positions with Mill Creek Residential and Simpson Housing.
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Joe Boncore is stepping down from his role as CEO of MassBio at the end of the year. Boncore plans to open his own consulting firm and will likely have MassBio as a client, the Boston Business Journal reported. He will be replaced by Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, who has been with the organization for 14 years, most recently as president and chief operating officer.
Boncore held the position since September 2021 after serving as a state senator for five years. In his time at MassBio, Boncore emphasized the importance of transportation and development for companies trying to bring in new talent. He also pushed for the state to land a new federal agency called ARPA-H, short for Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
