REVERE, MASS. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided a $44 million Freddie Mac, fixed-rate mortgage loan for Rumney Flats, an apartment complex in Revere. Built in 2016, the 231-unit property was 97 percent occupied at the time of financing. Dirk Falardeau of KeyBank arranged the financing with a 10.5-year term, including a five-year interest-only period, and a 30-year amortization schedule. The undisclosed borrower used proceeds of the loan to refinance existing debt.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. — The Somerville Board of Aldermen approved rezoning to allow the city to move forward on a proposed $1 billion, 2.3 million-square-foot Union Square redevelopment project. Somervile is situated just northeast of Boston, adjacent to Cambridge. The new mixed-use project would include 1.3 million square feet of new office and civic spaces, along with 2.5 acres of public and open spaces. City officials expect the project will create more than 5,000 new permanent jobs. The development will also provide housing, with 20 percent of the supply dedicated to low-income families. In conjunction with the redevelopment, Somerville is working on a $2.3 billion Green Line extension, which would connect Union Square with surrounding neighborhoods and Boston through the train system. The Union Square Station Associates (US2) is the City of Somerville’s master developer partner on the project. The association will make a $5.5 million public benefits contribution toward the Green Line project. “Union Square’s proximity to Kendall Square, MIT and Harvard — one the densest innovation centers in the world — makes it poised for the next wave of economic growth,” says Greg Karczewski, president of US2. “We’re bringing 2.3 million square feet of new mixed-use, transit-oriented development to …
SAUGUS, MASS. — CBRE/New England has arranged the sale of the Hilltop Steak House site on Route 1 in Saugus. High Country Investors sold the property to AvalonBay Communities for $17.2 million. The buyer plans to develop the site into a 280-unit luxury rental apartment community with 25,000 square feet of retail space. Community amenities of the mixed-use property will include a landscaped courtyard, pool, fireplaces, grills, a dog park and a clubhouse with a fitness facility. Simon Butler, Biria St. John and Rob Robledo of CBRE/NE represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
NEEDHAM, MASS. — NAI Hunneman has brokered the acquisition of two retail properties, located at 1257 and 1299 Highland Ave. in Needham. South Street 4414 Holdings LLC purchased the properties from DWM Interests and LGM Interests for $11.6 million. Situated on 1.4 acres, the buildings total 21,252 square feet and share a parking lot. David Ross of NAI Hunneman represented the buyer, while Craig Barker of Boston Real Estate Advisors represented the seller in the deal.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — New England Development is repositioning the Galleria shopping center in East Cambridge as CambridgeSide through a $30 million renovation and rebranding project, which is slated for completion in October. Situated on the original site of New England’s Lechmere department store, the shopping center will be the centerpiece of a 1.2 million-square-foot urban mixed-use development. Tenants at the rebranded retail property will include J.Crew, Club Monaco, A|X Armani Exchange, Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, Macy’s, H&M, Express, Forever 21, Sephora, The Cheesecake Factory and World of Beer.
BOSTON — Oxford Properties Group has provided a $180 million loan for the refinancing of One Congress Street and the Government Center Garage in Boston. The 11-story, mixed-use asset includes a 1,960-space parking garage with 202,854 square feet of office space and 23,212 square feet of retail space. The borrower was a joint venture between National Real Estate Advisors LLC and its Boston-based development partner, The HYM Investment Group LLC. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower to arrange the short-term, floating-rate loan. The property is centered among many of Boston’s most popular neighborhoods and destinations, including the Financial District, TD Garden, Faneuil Hall Market District, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, North End, West End and Beacon Hill. The development draws a diverse set of parkers, ranging from commuters to event attendees to residents seeking overnight parking. This location also offers immediate access to entrance ramps for Interstate 93, as well as two on-site subway lines (MBTA Green Line and Orange Line), providing connectivity to greater Boston. The property is also the site of Bulfinch Crossing, a 2.9 million-square-foot mixed-use development project that will consist of residential, office, hotel and retail uses. Led by the borrower, the Bulfinch Crossing project …
BOSTON — Rockpoint Group has completed the disposition of Tower Point, an office building located in the Upper Seaport District of Boston. Germany-based Universal-Investment and an institutional account managed by Northwood Investors acquired the 157,067-square-foot asset for an undisclosed price. The sellers rehabilitated the historic manufacturing facility into a first-class office building, which is 100 percent leased. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and James Tribble of NKF Capital Markets, along with Timothy Bianchi of Newmark Knight Frank, represented the seller in the transaction.
WALTHAM, MASS. — Blackstone Mortgage Trust has provided $135 million in financing for 830 and 828 Winter St., an existing lab building and a planned lab facility in the Boston suburb of Waltham. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, King Street Properties, in securing the financing through Blackstone. Loan proceeds will be used to refinance 830 Winter St., which spans 185,000 square feet, and to construct 828 Winter St. Completed in 2001, 828 Winter St. is home to tenants including Praecis Pharmaceuticals, ImmunoGen, GlaxoSmithKline and Histogenics Corp. The new property at 828 Winter St. will include 144,910 square feet across three stories along with a four-level parking garage. King Street broke ground on the project in October 2016 and is planning for a delivery date of July 2018. The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower included Greg LaBine and Porter Terry.
BOSTON — WS Development has hired architecture firm OMA to design a mixed-use project located at 88 Seaport Blvd. in Boston. The project, located in Boston’s Seaport District, is OMA’s first commission in the city of Boston. OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu will lead the design efforts at 88 Seaport, which upon completion will include nearly 425,000 square feet of office space, 60,000 square feet of retail on the first two floors and 5,000 square feet of civic/cultural use. Construction is slated to begin in 2018 and finish in 2020.
EAST BOSTON AND REVERE, MASS. — The HYM Investment Group LLC, a mixed-use developer based in Boston, has purchased Suffolk Downs, a 161-acre horse racetrack located in East Boston and Revere. Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC sold the asset in a sale-leaseback transaction to HYM’s affiliate, The McClellan Highway Development Co. LLC, for $155 million. The under-utilized horse racing facility will officially close after the summer of 2018, according to HYM. The Boston Globe reports that the racetrack is only planning on hosting six live races this season. HYM plans to redevelop Suffolk Downs into a transit-oriented, mixed-use project, including office, retail, housing and open space. HYM expects to develop street-level retail and housing in the redevelopment’s first phase. No timeline for construction was given. “In our dozens of preliminary meetings with elected officials and local community stakeholders in Revere and East Boston recently, we consistently heard that local residents want retail, restaurants and new job opportunities. This development will provide all, while also setting aside a significant amount of the site for open space and providing better connections to the neighborhood,” says Thomas O’Brien, founding partner and managing director of HYM Investment Group. “We are looking forward to engaging the …
