This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
Mayor Michelle Wu has named two new board members to the Boston Planning & Development Agency, her first two appointments since taking office and launching efforts to restructure the agency.
The two seats will be filled by Zoning Board of Appeals Member Raheem Shepard and outgoing Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kate Bennett. The new appointments need to be approved by the city council.
“I look forward to working with Kate and Raheem, who are experts in their own right on building Boston in a thoughtful way,” BPDA Director Arthur Jemison said in a statement. “I am confident they will help guide growth that will make our City more resilient, affordable, and equitable.”
Bennett will fill a vacant seat that was held by Carol Downs, who left the board last year, and Shepard will replace Michael Monahan, a leader of the local IBEW union who sat on the board for the last 10 years.
Shepard's appointment upholds the tradition of including union representation on the board because he is the regional manager of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.
Board Chair Priscilla Rojas is also set to be reappointed, according to a press release. The appointments add to the ongoing uncertainty about the agency's future, especially after Wu announced steps to reduce the agency's influence at her State of the City address in January.
SALES
A joint venture of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes and Normandy Opportunity Zone Fund LP, a fund sponsored by Cannon Hill Capital Partners, acquired two retail properties at 65-75 Mystic Ave. in Somerville for $142M. The deal includes a 125K SF building leased to Home Depot and a 34K SF vacant building that was once home to a Circuit City.
The team said the deal was made possible with $68M in equity from CrowdStreet, the largest-ever fund-raise on the platform. The buyers also obtained a loan from Centennial Commercial Finance Group and Lionheart Strategic Management.
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San Diego-based Phase 3 Real Estate Partners acquired 7 Channel Center in the Fort Point neighborhood from a Westbrook Partners affiliate, the Boston Business Journal reported. The seller had been approved to demolish the existing building and develop a nine-story lab project earlier this year.
Phase 3 also owns 5 Channel Center, which it bought from Westbrook in 2020, and 12 Farnsworth. The developer also received approval to partially convert a 10-story office building into life sciences in June.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
City Realty proposed an office-to-residential redevelopment in the Cleveland Circle area of Brighton. The proposal calls for a six-story, 20-unit apartment building, according to a proposal submitted to the BPDA. The project includes five affordable apartments, which the developer said exceeded the city's minimum Inclusionary Development Policy requirements.
The existing three-story building is home to the Cleveland Circle Convenience Store on the ground floor, KZ Law Offices and New Box Studios. City Realty said the development will cost roughly $10.5M.
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Capstone Communities, Hope Real Estate Enterprises and the city of Cambridge celebrated the opening of Frost Terrace, a 100% affordable, 40-unit housing development in Porter Square.
The development includes a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units for residents earning 30% to 60% of the area median income. Frost Terrace was funded through a mix of state, local and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit sources, including Rockland Trust's $17.7M in financing.
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Bruner/Cott Architects completed a renovation of the Rivermark Apartments, which includes two 490K SF residential buildings in Cambridge. The renovations consisted of new cladding and window systems as well as interior upgrades to the lobbies, elevators and corridors. The 300-unit apartment complex is owned by Wingate Cos.
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An affiliate of New Balance Development Group filed a proposal to redevelop a vacant one-story building into 76 units of housing on North Beacon Street in Brighton. The development proposal for 131 North Beacon St. will also include ground-floor retail and 48 parking spaces. If approved, this proposal will add to the group's 400-unit housing development pipeline, Banker & Tradesman reported.
