This Week's Boston Deal Sheet
In a push to create more mixed-income housing, Mayor Marty Walsh is seeking a federal grant that will jump-start $300M of housing development near Roxbury’s border with the South End.
On Tremont Street about eight blocks from Mass Avenue, the City hopes to demolish and rebuild the federally subsidized 200 apartments that compose the Whittier Street Public Housing development. The City hopes to snag a $30M federal grant that will allow it to leverage an additional $300M in private financing from private developers to build nearby 350 other units that would charge moderate to market rate rents, Boston Housing Authority deputy administrator Kate Bennett tells Bisnow. The 200 affordable apartments would be scattered among them. The private developers have a commitment for financing to start construction on Phase 1.
Construction & Development
Wood Partners broke ground on a 224-apartment mixed-income community in Andover due for completion July ’16. The director of Wood’s Boston office, Adelaide Grady, says the edge on the competition will be the finishes and amenities in the complex composed of two wood-framed residential buildings and a clubhouse. The Architectural Team, based in Chelsea, designed the development that includes 56 affordable units.
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New Boston Ventures plans to redevelop the 1805 Bulfinch building on the Greenway as part of a new 52-unit residential project at 102-112 Broad St. Jim Alexander of Feingold Alexander presented the masonry, glass and steel project that his firm designed to the Boston Civic Design Commission. Construction might begin this summer for a winter ’16 completion.
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The 27-acre, 820k SF Discovery Park near Alewife in Cambridge is set to grow by nearly 50% with the development of two office/life science buildings, a 150-key hotel and a 650-car garage, says president Robert Schlager. The city just approved the expansion to Bulfinch’s master planned park near the Red Line T-stop, a district where nearly 2,000 new apartments have been recently completed or are in development.
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National Development will build a 200-key AC Marriott hotel on Albany Street next to its $250M Ink Block South End mixed-use project that features a 50k SF Whole Foods grocer. Partner Ted Tye hopes to start construction this year for a ’17 opening.
Nor-al Housing Associates, an affiliate of Needham-based Wingate Development — with the help of $8.3M in financing from MassHousing — will refi and rehabilitate the Nor-al Apartments in Dorchester. The Section 8 subsidies for its 57 apartments are being extended for 20 years. Improvements include: new windows, lead paint abatement, energy-saving measures and handicapped accessibility.
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Omnicare, a Cincinnati-based pharmaceutical distributor, has finished a $1.3M, 55k SF renovation at 2 Technology Dr in Peabody to expand its North Shore business. The company, which also has facilities in Hingham and Shrewsbury, has nearly 200 workers at the Peabody facility: offices and a 22k SF pharmacy where staff and robotics equipment do compounding work. Vantage Builders was the contractor.
Sale
The Mount Vernon Co, which recently purchased multifamily buildings on Mission Hill, paid $5.4M to Union Street for a nearly 8k SF mixed-use property at 16-24 Union Park St in the South End. Boston Realty Advisors repped Mount Vernon.
Leasing
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants of Columbus, OH, has taken nearly 11k SF at 100 Pier 4 at 142 Northern Ave, in the Seaport District, for a new Ocean Prime restaurant. Slated to open this winter (which we hope ends before Memorial Day), it’s CMR’s 13th location for the seafood supper club. Next fall, it expects to open a restaurant in New York.
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Finally Light Bulb Co, which specializes in "acandescent" lighting technology, is moving from 5k SF in Woburn into 11k SF at 56 Roland St in Charlestown next month.
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Berry Appleman & Leiden is taking 2,300 square feet at 451 D St in the Seaport District. The San Francisco-based law firm helps US-based companies hire workers from abroad and foreign companies set up in the US. Edward Rios, the managing partner, is an alum of BU law school and Harvard.
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The Town of Framingham leased 20k SF at 73 Mount Wayte for public school department administrative offices. RW Holmes Realty’s Dean Blackey and Craig Johnston were the brokers on the deal. Contractor Tutor Perini owns and occupies the 103k SF complex.
People
Gil Winn is now CEO of WinnCompanies, says Arthur Winn, the company founder and principal (and Gil's father). Gil will oversee the management and investment activities of the 3,000-person company. A major national developer and manager of low- and mixed-income housing and military housing, it is considered the largest manager of affordable housing and the largest operator of privatized military housing in the country.
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Joseph Rull, chief of operations and administration for Mayor Walsh, has been named Chief Administrative Officer of Boston 2024, the campaign to bring the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to the US.
