This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
The Boston Planning & Development Agency approved a project that could bring massive changes to Dorchester Avenue and the surrounding neighborhood.
The agency on Thursday approved Core Investments' master plan for its On the Dot development that would create 11 new buildings including office, life sciences, residential, retail and community spaces. The project is planned to be developed in phases, according to the press release.
The project, located at 475-511 Dorchester Ave., is planned to include 1,450 residential units with 17% of them — 248 units — being income-restricted. The firm would also pay $30.7M in affordable linkage payments and $5.6M in job training linkage payments.
The approval came at a meeting in which the board also approved five new developments that would create 233 residential units in East Boston, Mattapan, Mission Hill and South Boston. Also approved at the meeting were a public-private partnership and investment in a new Franklin Cummings Tech campus, the release of a request for proposals for the Allston Brighton Community Plan and a demonstration project plan for office-to-residential conversions.
SALES
Related Fund Management sold The Whitney Hotel to an entity linked to the Egeria Group for $57M, according to property records. The 65-room hotel opened in 2019 with a restaurant and cafe on the ground floor, the Boston Globe reported. Related bought the parcels at 170 Charles St. and 14 David G. Mugar Way in 2016 for $25M.
"Related Fund Management recently reached an agreement to sell The Whitney to Egeria," Patrick Sweeney, managing director of Related, said in a statement to Bisnow. "There will be no meaningful change with the hotel or its management, and we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to this new ownership group."
FINANCING
Senior living developer 2Life Communities was awarded $7.6M in financing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Multifamily Programs to support its 127-unit Brooke House at Olmsted Village project in Mattapan. The project is one of three affordable housing developments on the site and will be set aside for seniors with supportive services earning up to 60% of the area median income.
2Life was one of 25 communities to receive the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly grant funding through this program, which gave $160.1M in total funding for 1,262 units of rent-assisted apartments across the country.
PERSONNEL
The Procopio Cos. hired Andy Cogliano as general superintendent of the construction and development company. Cogliano will lead all field supervision teams, manage all active construction sites and oversee performance on active projects in Beverly, Wilmington, Winthrop and Gloucester, as well as in New Hampshire, Maine and Florida.
Prior to this role, Cogliano oversaw various projects on higher education campuses including Dartmouth College, Northeastern University, Boston College, Harvard University and Wentworth Institute of Technology. He also has experience across multifamily, life sciences and residential industries.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
The Everett Planning Board gave final approval to Wynn Resorts' 142K SF expansion across from its Encore Boston Harbor casino, a project that will bring sports betting and poker rooms, a nightclub and a 979-seat theater. The expansion, connected by a pedestrian bridge to the new casino, is planned to be built on parcels that once held industrial buildings and surface parking lots.
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Redgate delivered two life sciences projects in Bedford last week. In partnership with Optimum Asset Management and AEW, the developer completed the 288K SF Bedford Labs at 100 Crosby Drive. That project is fully leased by Sarepta Therapeutics. The company also opened its 168K SF Riverwalk Labs, which features on-site amenities including a pickleball court, a food hall, a fitness center, a meditation room and bike storage space.
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Rafi Properties plans to transform the Somernova business park, a 7.4-acre property of low-slung buildings, into a $3.3B, 1.9M SF, five-building campus with heights ranging from nine to 16 stories. The project is planned to produce 1.4M SF of commercial space, 68K SF of retail, 36K SF of community services, 4K SF reserved for the arts and 1,252 underground parking spaces. Rafi acquired the business park in 2018 and has attracted a variety of tenants, including climate tech startup Greentown Labs and MIT venture-backed The Engine.
