This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
King Street Properties has proposed a new lab building in Allston as part of its efforts to attract biotech startups to the area.
The developer filed a letter of intent last week with the Boston Planning & Development Agency for a 90K SF lab and office development at 287 Western Ave. A vacant commercial building and a garage space for Boston Emergency Medical Services vehicles occupy the site now, the Boston Business Journal reported.
"These uses will be smaller prebuilt suites designed to accommodate research companies in the biotechnology and life sciences industry in the early stages of their growth," the letter of intent says. "As such, the Project will be complementary to the ecosystem of the Western Avenue corridor and other life science uses in the surrounding area."
The development is proposed to be steps away from the firm's $915M Allston Labworks project. King Street broke ground on the 585K SF lab development in October.
SALES
Cruz Development Corp. acquired a state-owned 1.4-acre parcel in New Bedford that it plans to turn into a 28-unit mixed-income project. The property was the home of the St. Mary's Home for Children. In 2021, the state's Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance identified it as an underutilized property. Cruz was able to acquire the property after a competitive request for proposals process.
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Chicago-based Mesirow acquired a 329-unit apartment building in Assembly Square for $188M. Alta Revolution is a 344K SF building that includes a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Walker & Dunlop provided $104M in acquisition financing for the buyer. The seller in the deal was Wood Partners, which bought the site for $34M in 2019 and completed construction on the building in 2022.
FINANCING
MassDevelopment issued a $25M tax-exempt bond on behalf of nonprofit real estate developer CIL Realty of Massachusetts. The developer will use the bond to construct and/or renovate 21 residences for up to 105 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or acquired brain injuries. The bonds will also be used to refinance previously issued debt.
The properties are in Agawam, Athol, Dracut, East Longmeadow, Hadley, Kingston, Ludlow, Middleborough, Middleton, Newton, Phillipston, Southampton, Sudbury, Swansea, Tewksbury, West Springfield, Westfield and Westport.
PERSONNEL
JLL hired Tom Sullivan as senior managing director of the firm's Boston capital markets team. In his new role, he will focus on debt advisory throughout the Northeast. Before joining JLL, Sullivan worked for six years as managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, where he built and led a structured finance advisory group.
Sullivan also worked at the global real estate finance firm CCRE as managing director of commercial real estate for five years. Sullivan has handled more than $12B of debt and equity for all asset types during his career.
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John M. Corcoran & Co. hired Bob Ruzzo as executive vice president of property management. He will act as the primary business leader for the company's property management operations. Ruzzo also serves as president of Corcoran Management Co. and succeeds Kevin Young, who retired after 36 years.
Before this role, Ruzzo served as chief operating officer and deputy director at MassDevelopment. He also held the position of chief of real estate development for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. Ruzzo received a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Core Investments last week unveiled its proposed master plan for a 21-acre site on Dorchester Avenue. The plan calls for 11 new buildings yielding 4M SF across four phases, the Boston Business Journal first reported.
The first phase of the project is planned to start with a 325-unit apartment building, open space and more than 1.3M SF of commercial space. The second phase would include a 224K SF residential building. The third would have a 630K SF lab and office building and a 190K SF residential building, and the fourth phase would include two more residential buildings totaling 567K SF and 346K SF.
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The HYM Investment Group and The Bowery Presents plan to open The Stage at Suffolk Downs, a 168K SF music venue, on June 16. The venue is at 525 William F. McLellan Highway and can hold up to 8,500 concertgoers. The site expands The Bowery Presents' portfolio, which includes Roadrunner in Brighton, The Sinclair in Cambridge and Royale in downtown Boston.
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The Beverly Planning Board approved the Procopio Cos.' Amara multifamily development. In partnership with Beverly Crossing, the developer plans to build the five-story, 60-unit project with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Five of the units in the building will be designated as affordable. The development will also be in close proximity to the Beverly Depot commuter rail stop.
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The Boston Planning & Development Agency is looking for a developer to build on a 261K SF parking lot site in Charlestown. The agency released a request for proposals for the rights to develop the Austin Street parking lots via a 99-year ground lease. Developers need to respond by July 10.
The selected proposal will need to adhere to the PLAN: Charlestown goals, including housing creation for all income levels, a swath of public open space, and pedestrian and bicycle connections to Bunker Hill Community College. In a pre-conference bid May 24, public records show that representatives from major Boston developers were in attendance, including Pennrose, Related Beal, Samuels & Associates, The Davis Cos. and Rise.
