This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
MassBio and Beacon Capital Partners are working together to launch a new workforce training center in Dorchester aimed at addressing the skills gap in life sciences and helping underrepresented individuals enter the industry.
The MassBio Training Center will be a 4K SF facility at Beacon Capital's Southline Boston development. It will launch with three certificate training program that are free and will provide trainees with a stipend for any work missed to attend. MassBio is also partnering with the city on this program.
“The MassBio Training Center at Southline will rapidly deliver lab space, classrooms, and programming that directly responds to the needs of industry, current workforce challenges and skills gaps, and our deep desire to bring underrepresented and marginalized individuals into the life sciences industry,” MassBio President Kendalle Burlin O’Connell said in a press release.
MassBio will also work with three educational institutions, University Massachusetts of Boston, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, to bring on three different learning tracts for trainees.
The Southline Boston project is a 750K SF redevelopment of the former Boston Globe headquarters at 135 Morrissey Blvd. The 16-acre campus features a four-story atrium and a food hall.
The news of the partnership comes one week after the trade company's CEO, Joe Boncore, announced he would step down from his role at the end of the year to begin a consulting practice.
LEASES
Software company SmartBear expanded its Assembly Row headquarters by 16K SF and renewed its lease for another seven years. The company, which employs 260 workers, now occupies 52K SF on the third and fourth floors of 450 Artisan Way.
The expansion was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. SmartBear also added an on-site gym, coffee bars and new collaboration areas for employees. The company moved into its headquarters in 2015 and has 11 other locations globally.
FINANCING
MassHousing provided $18M for the refinancing and preservation of a 100-unit affordable housing complex in Attleboro. The financing was given to the Retirement Housing Foundation and the Schochet Cos. for the Hillcrest Acres Apartments at 1101 Hillside Ave.
The partnership acquired Hillcrest Acres in 2020 through Chapter 40T, a law that protects affordable housing from being sold and converted to unrestricted rents. The joint venture plans to complete $9.9M in property improvements and will also use the financing to secure the affordability of the housing.
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Hingham-based Saxon Partners secured $79.7M in construction financing for a 250-unit multifamily project in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The development will include two four-story, market-rate apartment buildings. The developer is in a joint venture with Tritower Financial Group LLC on the deal and received the loan from Brookline Bank.
The development will be part of the firm’s The Marek portfolio, which includes properties close to major medical centers and provides housing to “hospital affiliated populations.” The Marek at Lebanon is a mile from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
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Mayor Michelle Wu plans to invest $60M of American Rescue Plan Act funding toward the production of income-restricted housing. Along with this investment, Wu has made 150 parcels of land available for developers to build affordable housing. The parcels were identified as part of a citywide audit that completed in June, and the city plans to release requests for proposals for the first 70 parcels early next year.
In addition, the Mayor’s Office of Housing will fund three assistance programs for those looking to buy a home. Qualified homebuyers will also be eligible for down payment and closing cost assistance of up to 5% but not exceeding $50K.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Restore Hyper Wellness opened a 2,300 SF new store in Woburn and has committed to opening at least nine other locations in Massachusetts. A second wellness center is set to open in Watertown in early 2023. The company operates 170 locations around the country, with its first Restore location opening in Santa Clarita, California, last year. Restore owners Parag Laddha and Kunal Rao also own The Learning Experience, an early education and childcare center with six locations in the Boston area.
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Urban Spaces LLC and Diamond Sinacori LLC plan to develop 12 townhomes in Brookline’s Fisher Hill neighborhood. The Townhomes at The Richardson Estate will be marketed to empty nesters looking for homebuying opportunities with minimal upkeep.
The townhomes will overlook the Brookline Reservoir and will have individual garages. They also allow for "aging in place" with accommodations for an elevator installation in each of the townhomes.
