WORCESTER, MASS. — Chinese biomanufacturing company WuXi Biologics will develop a $60 million office project in Worcester, approximately 45 miles west of Boston. The 107,000-square-foot building will anchor a 46-acre master-planned biomanufacturing campus called The Reactory, a 470,000-square-foot redevelopment of a site formerly occupied by Worcester State Hospital. Worcester Business Development Corp. (WBDC) sold the 7-acre parcel of land to WuXi for $1.5 million. Brian Cohen, Chris McCauley and Colin Coughlin of CBRE represented WuXi Biologics in the transaction. Jim Umphrey and Drew Higgins represented WBDC. WuXi expects the facility to be operable in 2020.
BOSTON — Beacon Communities Development is planning a 55-unit expansion of The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, a 51,000-square-foot affordable housing community in South Boston. Located at 25 James O’Neil St., the 245-unit community is part of a larger 400-unit property called The Homes at Old Colony. The new units will be reserved for low-income seniors. The Architectural Team designed the project. Beacon Communities expects to begin construction this summer and to complete the project in 2022.
CHELSEA, MASS. — Arbor Realty Trust has provided a $59 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of One North of Boston II, a 222-unit multifamily property located in the northern Boston suburb of Chelsea. Arbor provided the 10-year, fixed-rate loan to a joint venture between locally based firms Redgate Capital Partners LLC and TransDel Corp. Located at 150 Heard St., the six-story property totals 182,581 net rentable square feet and features two studio apartments, 161 one-bedroom, 44 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units. The property, which is Phase II of the One North Boston project, was constructed in 2016. Jeff Black, Kevin Phelan, Sean Burke and Bryan Koop of Colliers International originated the loan.
BOSTON — EagleBridge Capital has arranged a $9 million loan for the refinancing of a 40,500-square-foot office building in Boston. A regional financial institution provided the 10-year, nonrecourse loan to the undisclosed borrower at a fixed interest rate of 3 percent. Located at 33 Broad St., the 11-story building is 100 percent leased to tenants in the legal, accounting, consulting, finance and real estate sectors. State Street Eye Health and Expresso Love lease the ground-floor retail space. Ted Sidel of EagleBridge arranged the loan.
WAKEFIELD, MASS. — A partnership between NRP Group and World Premier Investments has begun construction of Grayson Lofts at Wakefield Station, a 184-unit apartment community in Wakefield, a northern suburb of Boston. Located at 178 Albion St., the project is a redevelopment of a three-story mill building that was previously used as office space. The west side of the U-shaped building will retain its office space while the east side will be redeveloped for a residential project featuring one- and two-bedroom floor plans. The development team will also construct an additional three stories on top of the existing building that will also feature residential space. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce provided construction financing for the project. Construction is slated to be complete in 2021.
ANDOVER, MASS. — IQHQ, a Boston-based REIT, has acquired Innovation Park, an approximately 200,000-square-foot life sciences and office located in the northern Boston suburb of Andover. The sales price was $35.9 million. Located at 4 Corporate Drive, the property features Class A office and lab space, as well as ground-floor retail space. University of Massachusetts Lowell and clinical research firm Ora Inc. recently leased space at the campus. Colliers International represented IQHQ in the transaction.
GREENFIELD, MASS. — Stan Johnson Co. has brokered the sale of a 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Greenfield, a city in northwestern Massachusetts. The property is located at 53 Silvio O. Conte Drive. The facility has been 100 percent leased to Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc., a manufacturer of paper, film, surface protection supplies and other products, for more than 30 years. Mollie Alteri, Joey Odom, Mike Sladich and Maggie Holmes of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller, a partnership between Jera Partners LLC and a DRA Advisors LLC, in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.
BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has begun a phased reopening plan for some businesses and services in the state, according to a public statement from the state administration on Monday, May 18. Phase I includes a staggered reopening of places of worship, manufacturing and construction sites and hospital preventative care centers. On May 25, personal services including hair salons, barbershops, pet grooming and car washes will be allowed to reopen, as will offices outside of the Boston area, laboratories, curbside retail, outdoor entertainment and daycare facilities. Offices in the Boston area will be permitted to reopen on June 1. Following the completion of Phase I, the state will evaluate the effect of reopening on the spread of the virus and will begin Phase II of the plan no earlier than June 8. Baker issued an executive order closing all nonessential businesses on March 23, which was later extended on April 28. As of May 18, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported more than 87,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state and nearly 5,900 deaths.
MEDWAY, MASS. — Berkeley Partners, a California-based investment firm, has acquired a 162,736-square-foot industrial property in Medway, approximately 30 miles southwest of Boston. The sales price was $16.6 million. Located at 51 Alder St., the property features 24-foot clear heights and convenient access to Interstate 495. At the time of sale, the property was 91 percent leased to tenants including Verizon Wireless. Scott Dragos, Chris Skeffington and Doug Jacoby led a CBRE team that represented the seller, Conroy Development, in the transaction. The team also procured Berkeley Partners as the buyer.
SHREWSBURY, MASS. — Massachusetts-based Casa Builders and Developers is underway on construction of Wyman Farms, a 26-unit senior living community in Shrewsbury, an eastern suburb of Worcester. The property will feature 13 duplex-style residences with two bedrooms each that will be restricted to residents age 55 and older. The property is located near UMass Memorial Medical Center University Campus, multiple golf courses and retailers such as Wegmans, Walmart and Whole Foods Market. The project is slated for completion in 2022.