This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
New York-based The United Group of Cos. secured $35M in financing for a new senior living project in Worcester.
The Arbella at Bramble Hill project is planned to be a three-building, 123-unit development for seniors 55 years or older, according to JLL. The developer secured the construction loan from Washington Trust, with JLL's capital markets team brokering the deal.
The project is planned to include one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as an 8,500 SF clubhouse. The buildings will have "a compact footprint" allowing for more green space on the premises.
The developer bought the 17-acre property at 757 Salisbury St. for $4.9M in July, Banker & Tradesman reported. The United Group of Cos. owns properties in several asset classes including senior housing, student housing, multifamily and mixed-use with over 25,000 units developed, according to its website.
SALES
The Davis Cos. purchased the former ExxonMobil site in Everett for $72.5M. The 100-acre property is one of the biggest pieces of developable land near Boston, and Davis plans to redevelop it into a mixed-use hub. As part of the acquisition, the site will need to go through an estimated $100M in remediation and cleanup, which could take up to four years to complete before any development can begin.
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The Longmeadow Shops sold for $30.4M to Florida-based Regency Centers, the Boston Business Journal reported. The 10-acre property at 690 Bliss Road in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, is fully leased with the newest tenant being a taqueria named Lola's. Grove Real Estate — a partnership between Joseph LaBrosse, Damon Navarro, Brian Navarro and Steven Walker — sold the property after buying it in 1994, BBJ reported. Regency Centers took out a $13M mortgage on the property through PNC Bank.
LEASES
Boston Pickle Club signed a 20K SF lease to open a new pickleball facility in Hyde Park. The club will be located at 91 Sprague St., a space formerly occupied by Sky Zone. The location will include merchandising, court rentals, clinics and private lessons. Newmark’s J.R. McDonald and Eric Jeremiah represented the landlord, Griffith Properties, in the lease, while Newmark’s Joe Pearce represented Boston Pickle Club.
FINANCING
MassHousing closed on $10M in financing through the state's CommonWealth Builder Program for Tremont Development Partners LLC to help construct 30 new townhomes in Taunton. The developer plans to transform a vacant medical office building into homes for first-time homebuyers. Four of the homes will be set aside for families earning up to 80% of the area median income, and 26 will be set aside for those making up to 100% AMI. Homes are expected to sell for between $195K and $255K.
PERSONNEL
Goulston & Storrs appointed Michelle Porter as co-managing director, joining William Dillon and taking over Martin Fantozzi's seat, which he will be stepping down from after nearly 15 years. Porter has spent the last 25 years advising clients on sophisticated estate and tax planning. Her most recent role was as co-chair for the firm's Private Client & Trust Group.
Outside of her work with Goulston & Storrs, Porter serves on the board of directors of the Special Olympics Massachusetts and was previously chair of the Massachusetts Clients’ Security Board and a member of the Boston Foundation Professional Advisors Committee.
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Chris Weilminster, Timothy Mount and Don Briggs have formed Hg80 Real Estate, a Boston-based firm that will be focused on acquiring and developing retail-focused mixed-use projects. Weilminster and Briggs have spent decades working together at Urban Edge and Federal Realty before forming the new firm. Hg80 is looking to partner with investors and owners on these types of projects.
The firm will also concentrate on working with lenders, creating public-private partnerships with municipalities and acquiring mixed-use properties in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Florida. Weilminster and Mount are founding partners of the firm, with Briggs coming on as a managing partner.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
The Boston Planning & Development Agency approved several projects during its monthly board meeting on Thursday, including a 230-unit redevelopment in Brighton and a new Holocaust Museum and Educational Center downtown.
The BPDA board also voted on the implementation of PLAN: Newmarket, aimed at preserving one of the city's few industrial hubs and an affordable housing waiver. The waiver is of Mayor Michelle Wu's executive order that would exempt certain affordable housing projects from the Article 80 process and accelerate their development.
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Lois and David Slovik put their nearly 15-acre Newton property back on the market for $24M after a deal with developers NOW Communities and Civico fell through, the Boston Business Journal reported. The developers had proposed a 125-unit development with multifamily and single-family homes. The deal fell through when the team couldn't reach an agreement with the owners. The owners are represented by LandVest's John Boyle.
