This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
National Development filed a proposal for the development of a three-building lab project that would replace an office park near the Burlington Mall.
The Newton-based developer applied for a special permit to replace two existing office buildings at 1200 and 1700 District Ave. with two life sciences buildings totaling 465K SF and build a third, 190K SF life sciences building on an undeveloped site that was previously approved for office.
The developer said in a cover letter to the Burlington Planning Board that the modification was due to the changing office landscape in the region.
“With regional commercial real estate markets continuing to evolve and shift, it is critically important to the ongoing vitality of projects, such as The District Burlington, to reevaluate their overall master plan program with the future in mind,” National Development wrote in the letter. “Regionally, the life science sector continues to project a strong future.”
National bought the former New England Executive Park, where the offices are located, in 2013 and rebranded it as The District, Banker & Tradesman reported. It then developed a 170-room hotel and two new restaurants on the site, which already had over 1M SF of office space that is 95% leased.
The modification comes as the town looks to rezone its Mall Road corridor in an effort to bring more density and create a more walkable district. The town identified 100 acres of potentially developable land in the area around the Burlington Mall.
SALES
An undisclosed national REIT bought a 17K SF retail property in Saugus for $6M, REBusiness Online reported. The property at 682 Broadway St. is net leased by Harbor Freight Tools. The buyer was also undisclosed in the deal. Marcus & Millichap's Gabriel Britti, Ricardo Esteves and Ronnie Issenberg brokered the deal and procured the buyer.
LEASES
Luxury residential brokerage firm LandVest plans to break into the Boston market by opening a flagship office at 292 Newbury St. in the Back Bay, Banker & Tradesman reported. The property has almost 20K SF of leasable space, but it wasn't stated how much space the firm plans to take. The office is planned to open in March, and the firm plans to begin announcing brokers who will work there in the next couple of weeks.
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R.W. Holmes will be the exclusive leasing broker for Leewood Realty's 66 Newark industrial building in Haverhill, Boston Real Estate Times reported. The 58,500 SF flex building, which could potentially be used for manufacturing or warehousing, is the third building in the owner's 103K SF Newark Street Industrial Park. The park is home to Swix Sports USA and TBC Tire.
PERSONNEL
Mayor Michelle Wu appointed new Boston Civic and Design Commission leadership and commissioners on Thursday. New appointments include Mimi Love as chair of the BCDC and Linda Eastley as vice chair. The mayor also appointed three commissioners: Catherine Morris, Shauna Gillies-Smith and Laura Solano.
The appointees will be instated at the April BCDC monthly meeting, with the three new commissioners replacing three of the 10 existing ones. The BPDA held a celebration for the three outgoing commissioners on Feb. 13 for their work on the commission.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
On Tuesday, MP Boston plans to test Winthrop Center's Passive House capabilities as the next step in receiving its Passive House certification. If the building gets the certification, Winthrop Center’s office component will become the largest office building in the world to do so, coming in at 691 feet with over 812K SF of office space.
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Somerville's Zoning Board of Appeals voted to unanimously approve the permit request for Mark Development, Beacon Communities and RISE Together's 299 Broadway St. project, Tufts Daily reported. The site is the former location of a Star Market and Walgreens, which both closed years prior to the proposal.
The project consists of two buildings, retail space and a civic plaza totaling 330K SF and 288 units, 132 of which will be income-restricted. The project will not include any parking but will have 330 bike parking spots, appealing to residents that do not have cars.
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Beacon Communities opened a 55-unit affordable senior housing complex in South Boston, REBusiness Online reported. The project is the third phase of The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony project and consists of 51K SF on four floors. The apartment complex was also built using Passive House sustainability standards.
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Arx Urban filed a proposal to the Boston Planning & Development Agency for a 48K SF multifamily development in Dorchester. The proposal consists of a 47-unit, six-story residential building. Of the 47 units, seven will be affordable. The project would also include demolishing the car wash that sits on the site, Universal Hub reported.
CORRECTION, MARCH 2, 4:10 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story inaccurately described the certification that Winthrop Center is aiming to receive. This story has been updated.
