This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
Rafi Properties announced a new lease at its Somerville campus, though it has delayed its plans for a major expansion of the property.
Clean tech company Sublime Systems, which occupies 6,500 SF in the Greentown Labs facility at the Somernova campus, plans to add more than 23K SF in an adjacent building.
“After starting out at Greentown, we wanted to continue our growth trajectory amid the innovative ecosystem we were founded in,” Sublime Systems CEO Leah Ellis said in a statement. “Collaborating with Somernova has enabled us to seamlessly scale in our own neighborhood and maintain our access to the high-quality talent coming out of the universities surrounding Somerville.”
The lease announcement came two days after Cambridge Day first reported that Rafi Properties withdrew its plan to redevelop the campus into a $3.3B, 2M SF property aimed at attracting climate tech and tough tech tenants.
The plans were stalled due to community pushback, including from advocates concerned about the displacement the development could cause to the local art community, according to Cambridge Day. The development team plans to submit a revised proposal in the spring.
"The reason for withdrawing is so that we can work with the Union Square Neighborhood Council, City Staff and neighbors to revise the proposed Somernova project in response to comments that have been received," a Rafi Properties spokesperson said in a statement to Bisnow. "We intend to file revised zoning map and text changes this spring once more dialogue has occurred."
SALES
Alexandria Real Estate Equities sold a three-story office building at 138 River Road in Andover for $3.9M to Lawrence-based Energy North Group. The sale price represents a fraction of the $14.3M the life sciences REIT paid for it two years ago.
The River Road property was part of a bigger $341M investment in Andover, which included the purchase of two other campuses. Alexandria bought the properties in separate deals from Atlantic Management and Spear Street Capital.
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An entity linked to Daniel Sibor of North Cambridge Partners bought a 23K SF office and retail property at 2400 Massachusetts Ave. for $12.5M, Banker & Tradesman reported. In 2022, the firm tried to rezone the property and an adjacent one to accommodate an 80-foot condominium project. Sibor bought the property from Cambridge-based Junction Realty Trust. The firm secured a $9.4M loan for the deal from Leader Bank.
LEASES
Lyra Therapeutics plans to move from Watertown to Waltham as part of a new expansion plan. The company will move its headquarters into a 52K SF space at 880 Winter St., the Boston Business Journal reported. The company is leaving its location at 480 Arsenal Way in Watertown. Boston Properties owns the Waltham building, part of a two-building, 393K SF campus that the REIT acquired in 2019.
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The Medford Housing Authority has moved its operations from Riverside Avenue to a 5,300 SF office at 200 Boston Ave. in Cummings Properties' Medford innovation campus. The office will hold the housing authority's administrative, finance and Section 8 offices. The housing authority is moving to a new office while its Medford Center office undergoes an "extensive redevelopment," according to a press release from Cummings.
FINANCING
MassHousing is providing a $4.6M loan to Broadway Capital Inc. for a 71-unit, mixed-income condominium development in Revere. The project will create 18 homeownership opportunities.
The developer plans to redevelop a four-story assisted living community and will add 1,400 SF of commercial space. The development will include six units for those earning up to 70% of area median income, 12 units for those earning 80% AMI and 53 units at market rate.
CONSTRUCTION & FINANCING
Boylston Properties and Arx Urban celebrated the opening of their 525 LINC development, a co-living apartment community in Allston. The 125K SF, six-story residential building includes 80 units and 30 parking spaces. The building also includes 5K SF of amenity space and 1,300 SF of community space. National Development is the property manager of the site.
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John M. Corcoran began construction on The Devon at Weiss Farm, a 259-unit apartment complex in Braintree. The first phase of the project includes 12 townhomes, a 5K SF clubhouse and a 64-unit apartment building. The developer set aside 25% of the project as affordable under the state's Chapter 40B law.
The clubhouse will include a fitness center, coworking spaces, a gaming area, a catering kitchen and a coffee bar. The development is 10 miles from Boston and will mimic the original bar structure that was on the site.
