BOSTON — Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, an affordable housing owner-operator, has received approval from the Boston Planning & Development Agency, as well as the Zoning Board of Appeal, for the construction of a $25 million community center. Known as the Center for the Arts, Self-Determination and Activism (CASA), the facility will span 26,425 square feet and house a performance hall, classrooms, private offices, a gym and other common spaces. Studio ENÉE and Annum are the project architects. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and to be complete in late 2024.
BOSTON — Locally based developer Chestnut Hill Realty Corp. will build Puddingstone at Chestnut Hill, a 250-unit mixed-income residential community at 201 Sherman Road in Boston’s Brookline area. The unit mix will consist of 90 one-bedrooms, 135 two-bedrooms and 25 three-bedrooms, with 50 residences designated as affordable housing for renters earning up to 30 or 50 percent of the area median income. Chestnut Hill will also construct a total of 377 parking spaces through a two-story deck and surface lots. MassDevelopment provided $126 million in both taxable and tax-exempt bonds for the project. A tentative completion date was not disclosed.
BOSTON — Stuf Storage, a company that converts unused portions of office buildings into self-storage space for tenants, has opened a 2,400-square-foot space at 18 Tremont Street, a 12-story building in downtown Boston. The deal marks the Boston debut of Stuf Storage, which also operates facilities in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
BOSTON — California-based REIT Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE) has sold a stake in a $700 million life sciences facility located at 15 Necco St. in Boston’s Seaport District. The percentage of the interest, which was sold to a U.S. affiliate of Japanese developer Mori Trust Co., was not disclosed. Alexandria is developing the 346,000-square-foot facility in partnership with National Development as a build-to-suit for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. The facility will house retail and restaurant space on the ground floor and a terrace with green spaces and flexible workstations on the rooftop. Construction began in early 2022, and the development team expects to complete the project before the end of the year. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, Samantha Hallowell, Alex Foshay and William Sleeper of Newmark structured the recapitalization.
NEWTON, MASS. — Locally based owner-operator 2Life Communities has broken ground on Opus Newton, a seniors housing project that will be located on the western outskirts of Boston. The site is situated adjacent to 2Life’s Coleman House on the Jewish Community Center Greater Boston campus. Construction is slated for a summer 2025 completion. According to the developer, 95 percent of the residences are already preleased.
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Office Properties Income Trust Agrees to Acquire Diversified Healthcare Trust in All-Share Transaction
NEWTON, MASS. — Office Properties Income Trust (NASDAQ: OPI) has entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby the office REIT will acquire all the outstanding common shares of Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ: DHC), a REIT that owns properties in the medical office, life sciences and seniors housing sectors. The combined company will have approximately $12.4 billion of total gross assets under management, representing 539 properties across 40 states and Washington, D.C. The portfolio comprises about 264 seniors housing communities, 10 triple-net-leased wellness centers and 265 medical office, traditional office and life sciences buildings. About 42 percent of the portfolio is located in the Sun Belt. The RMR Group (NASDAQ: RMR), an alternative asset management firm based in Newton, manages both REITs and acquires properties on behalf of the entities. RMR also makes acquisitions on behalf of Service Properties Trust and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust. RMR Group will continue to manage the new company, which will be rebranded as Diversified Properties Trust and trade publicly on the Nasdaq Stock Market exchange. OPI’s executive team will lead the new company and will keep the firm’s corporate headquarters in Newton. The boards of trustees for both REITs unanimously approved the merger, which is …
LOWELL, MASS. — Northeast Private Client Group (NEPCG) has brokered the $4 million sale of Middlesex Street Apartments, a 24-unit multifamily complex located in the northern Boston suburb of Lowell. The 35,475-square-foot building is located in the downtown area and includes four commercial spaces. Brad Carlson of NEPCG represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which requested anonymity, in the transaction. The deal traded at a cap rate of approximately 7.3 percent.
NORTON, MASS. — Locally based developer Condyne Capital Partners is underway on vertical construction of a 60,000-square-foot industrial project in Norton, located about 40 miles south of Boston. The building is situated within Bluestar Business Park. Polar Design Build is handling design and construction of the project, which will feature a clear height of 32 feet, 17 dock doors, one drive-in ramp and 14 trailer parking spaces. Completion is slated for the fourth quarter.
BOSTON — Skanska USA has received approval from the Boston Zoning Commission for the redevelopment of a 5.8-acre site in Boston that currently houses Simmons University’s residential campus into a 1.7 million-square-foot mixed-use destination. The Boston Planning and Development Agency approved Skanska’s plans for the overall development, named Longwood Place, earlier this year. Global architecture firm Sasaki designed the transit-served development, which is slated to feature five buildings that will house life sciences, office, apartments, retail and restaurant space. In addition, Longwood Place will feature 2.6 acres of open green space and 15,000 square feet of indoor community space. Located at 305 Brookline Ave. in Boston’s Longwood neighborhood, Longwood Place will be situated a half-mile from Fenway Park, home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox. Nearby institutions include Simmons University, Emmanuel College, Northeastern University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. “A focus on delivering diverse spaces inside and out that surround high-performing life sciences buildings and a vital residential program make Longwood Place a vibrant addition to one of Boston’s most innovative neighborhoods,” says Meredith McCarthy, senior associate architect at Sasaki. As part of the master plan of …
BOSTON — MassDevelopment, Massachusetts’ state development finance agency and land bank, has issued $151.7 million in tax-exempt bonds to public housing authorities in the Boston suburbs of Brookline, Cambridge, Framingham and Medford. The proceeds will be used to renovate and preserve 368 units of housing for families, seniors, individuals living with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness. Additionally, the bonds will be used to create 46 new affordable apartments as well as to upgrade common areas, infrastructure, safety systems and landscaping. Brookline Housing Authority will use $40 million in proceeds to renovate the Sussman House Apartments in the southwest Boston suburb of Brookline. The community is a 100-unit complex that was built in 1969. Renovations include installing a new roof, windows and exterior cladding system; replacing the central heating and cooling system; upgrading elevators and unit interiors; and a new community room. Cambridge Housing Authority will use $21 million in proceeds to renovate and expand its building at 116 Norfolk St. in Cambridge, which is across the Charles River from Boston. The property, which was built in 1920, will be converted from 38 single-room units into studio apartments with their own kitchens and full bathrooms. Additionally, the project calls for 24 …