This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
The Boston Planning & Development Agency's board of directors approved three new developments during its monthly meeting on Thursday.
The new approved developments will consist of 625K SF and would include 290 residential units, 43 of which are designated income-restricted, according to a release. The new developments are also projected to create 1,098 permanent jobs.
Tishman Speyer and Breakthrough Properties received approval for their 232 A St. life sciences development in the Fort Point neighborhood. The firm proposed the 324K SF development in February 2023 and bought the property for $80M from Procter & Gamble in 2021.
Other proposals that won approval were Samuels & Associates' 274-unit 180 Western Ave. project in Allston and an updated plan for the Alexandra Hotel project, which would change the use from a residential building back to a hotel.
The board also approved the agency's fiscal year 2025 budget, which would allow the transfer of funds, staff and other services to the city's new planning department.
SALES
A client advised by Nuveen Real Estate acquired the 195-unit Halstead Malden Square in Malden for an undisclosed amount. The six-story, podium-style apartment complex has amenities including an outdoor pool, resident clubhouse with a fitness center, yoga room, spin room, golf simulator and game room. The building is within walking distance of the Malden Center MBTA station. CBRE's Simon Butler, Biria St. John, John McLaughlin, and Brian Bowler represented seller The DSF Group.
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An entity linked to The Davis Cos. acquired the Middlesex Marketplace in Burlington for $14.1M, according to deed records. The company bought the 38K SF retail property at 90 Middlesex Turnpike from an entity linked to Trammell Crow. The shopping center is 89% leased to tenants including Smith & Wollensky, Visionworks, Ideal Image and AFC Urgent Care. Trammell Crow acquired the property in 2018 for $29M, BLDUP reported. Atlantic Capital Partners' Justin Smith, Chris Peterson and Matt Ericson brokered the transaction.
LEASES
Bob’s Discount Furniture plans to open its newest showroom at 3 Abbott Park in Burlington on Friday. The 43K SF space is a relocation from a previous location in Woburn, and all of the associates from Woburn store will be transferred to the new one. The furniture chain has 174 stores across 24 states and over $2B in annual sales.
FINANCING
King Street Properties obtained a $74.8M construction loan for a 210K SF advanced manufacturing building at 75 Jackson Road at its Pathway Devens campus. The project team for the new building includes BW Kennedy, Vivo Architecture and Highpoint Engineering. King Street received the loan from First Citizens Bank and Berkshire Bank.
The building marks the fourth development on the 45-acre, 700K SF campus that sits 30 miles outside of Boston. The firm is nearing completion on site prep work for the new building and plans to begin construction shortly. King Street said it hopes to complete construction by the third quarter of 2025.
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MassDevelopment issued a $400M tax-exempt bond on behalf of Beth Israel Lahey Health to buy, build, expand and renovate multiple facilities in its healthcare system. Potential beneficiaries include the Klarman Building at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, Anna Jacques hospital in Newburyport and Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge Medical Center. The bonds were sold through a public offering underwritten by Goldman Sachs & Co.
PERSONNEL
The RMR Group named Summit Walia as vice president and head of residential acquisitions. In this role, Walia will lead the firm's investment strategy nationally and will report to Chief Investment Officer Rob Lester. Before joining The RMR Group, Walia was managing director of real estate acquisitions at LaSalle Investment Management. In that position, Walia executed transactions across asset classes for the firm in the western U.S. He also worked as executive director of real estate acquisitions for J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Rafi Properties revised the plans for its Somernova redevelopment in Somerville to scale back its expansion and add housing. The newest proposal consists of 1.6M SF of new space with buildings spanning six to nine stories, the Boston Business Journal reported. The plan would include a six-story, 100-unit residential building and 1M SF of research and office space, compared to the 1.43M SF of office space in the original proposal. The company also reduced the amount of parking spaces from 1,250 to 748.
