This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
City Realty acquired an office property in a part of Chestnut Hill that is slated to be rezoned.
The Boston-based company acquired the 120K SF property at 1280-1330 Boylston St. for $41M, it announced in a press release Monday. The 5-acre Chestnut Hill Office Park is located on Route 9 at the Newton-Brookline border and consists of four office buildings.
"It’s clear to anyone driving by that a suburban office park is not the best use for a location of this caliber,” City Realty Managing Partner Fred Starikov said in the release. “We recognized this site represented a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring new life to a deteriorating stretch of such an important area.”
Brookline officials have been actively trying to rezone the area where the property lies to become home to new uses, including lab space and retail. They aim to have new proposed zoning in by early fall and finalized guidelines by the end of the year.
Atlantic Capital Partners arranged the acquisition financing for the deal from Northern Bank. RLAW, P.C.'s Robert Allen Jr. and Jennifer Dopazo Gilbert represented City Realty for zoning and permitting needs in the city.
SALES
Entities linked to Giri Hotel Management acquired Homewood Suites by Hilton Boston-Peabody in Peabody for $13.8M, according to property records. The 205-room hotel at 57 Newbury St. is less than 10 miles from Salem, which attracts droves of tourists every October. Hunter Hotel Advisors' Spencer Davidson and Sophia Pittaluga represented the seller, which property records indicate was Hospitality Investors Trust.
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Equity Residential acquired the 160-unit Helix Apartments in Weymouth from Trinity Green Development for $62.6M. The site at 655 Washington St. was previously the Boston Motel. Trinity filed a proposal for the development in December 2020 after Weymouth officials shut down the motel through an emergency order in 2017.
LEASES
New England Development announced 14 new tenants will be opening locations at the developer's CanalSide Food + Drink food court at the CambridgeSide mall in Cambridge, the Boston Business Journal reported. Tenants include anoush’ella, Caffé Nero, Mexican restaurant Chilacates, DalMoros Fresh Pasta to Go, Asian eatery InChu and Lala's Neapolitan-ish Pizza. A soft opening for the hall is scheduled for October, with other tenants to be announced by then.
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WeWork reached a deal to keep 16 more locations, including two in Back Bay and downtown. The coworking company has decided to assume its leases at 33 Arch St. and 501 Boylston St. The company will pay a lower rent at 33 Arch St. but will not reduce its footprint at either location, according to a May 6 motion filed in New Jersey bankruptcy court. WeWork occupies 173K SF at 33 Arch St. and 100K SF at 501 Boylston St, the Boston Business Journal reported.
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Hydrogen technology company Nuvera Fuel Cells renewed its 111K SF full-building lease at 129 Concord Road in Billerica. The company renewed its lease after receiving $44M in federal funding, the Banker & Tradesman reported. The company has been headquartered at the two-building Rivertech Park campus since 2007. Newmark represented the tenant in lease negotiations with landlord Rivertech Park LLC.
FINANCING
Wollaston Lutheran Church’s Bauer House senior residences closed on the nation's first Green & Resilient Retrofit Program deal. The 75-unit subsidized senior housing complex in Quincy will use the funds to finance a new HVAC system and make accessibility improvements to the property. Nixon Peabody LLP's Alexander Rosso, Kathie Soroka, Jeffrey Sacks and Christine Brosonski represented the landlord in the closing.
PERSONNEL
Robert Golden was named CEO of Boston Financial, one of the largest Low Income Housing Tax Credit syndicators in the country. Golden joined Boston Financial after a 19-year career at Capital One Community Finance, where he was the head of originations. In that role, Golden was responsible for leading debt and equity production efforts.
In his new role, Golden will oversee all aspects of the company's operations, strategy and performance. He will focus on growing Boston Financial's mission to invest in affordable housing.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Boston officials plan to require developers to use heating and cooling systems that don't emit any greenhouse gases in new construction that is approved starting in January 2026, the Boston Business Journal reported. The new zoning regulations would apply to any new construction of 20K SF or larger or a residential building with 15 units or more. The zoning also applies to additions of at least 50K SF to existing properties.
