BOSTON — A partnership between two Boston-based firms, Wilder Cos. and TA Realty, has acquired a portfolio of nine grocery-anchored shopping centers totaling 729,437 square feet for $390 million. Eight of the properties are located in Massachusetts, and one is located in Rhode Island. At the time of sale, the portfolio was 95 percent leased, with grocers such as Whole Foods Market, Shaw’s, Star Market and Dave’s Fresh Marketplace serving as anchor tenants. Robert Griffin, Geoffrey Millerd, Jonathan Martin, Paul Penman and Mathew Adler of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Richard Ruggerio of Newmark assisted in closing the deal as the local broker of record.
BILLERICA, MASS. — Boston-based Berkeley Investments will develop Billerica Crossing, a 200,000-square-foot life sciences facility that will be located north of the state capital. Brian Morrissey, Michael Restivo, Martha Nay, Lenny Pierce and David Coffman of JLL represented Boston-based Cabot Corp. in its sale of the 18-acre tract to Berkeley Investments. Cabot owns and operates a research and development facility on the adjacent parcel. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
BOSTON — MassHousing has provided $205 million in financing for 10 affordable seniors housing communities totaling 931 units that are located in various parts of Massachusetts. The borrower, Providence Realty Investment LLC, will use the proceeds to refinance existing debt and preserve affordability. Providence Realty Investment previously utilized $125 million from MassHousing to purchase the communities in 2011. At that time, nearly a third of the 931 apartments involved were at risk of being converted to market rents and being lost from the state’s inventory of affordable housing. That transaction ensured that rents at the 10 properties would remain affordable for lower-income renters for at least 60 years. Rockport Mortgage worked on behalf of Provident Realty to place the loan with MassHousing.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — A partnership between Boston-based developer Anchor Line Partners and international asset management firm Northwood Investors has topped out 60 First Street, a 215,000-square-foot life sciences project located across the Charles River from Boston in Cambridge. The five-story property, which is a redevelopment of the former Sears building, includes ground-floor retail space and has been fully preleased. Biotech startup Prime Medicine has committed to 148,000 square feet across three floors, and RNA editing company Korro Bio has leased 50,000 square feet across two floors. Full completion of the project is slated for early 2023.
BURLINGTON, MASS. — Developer Nordblom Co., in partnership with Life Time Living, has broken ground on a 167-unit multifamily project in Burlington, a northern suburb of Boston. Residents will have access to memberships at the adjacent athletic resort, concierge services and work-from home amenities. The property is situated within the 150-acre Northwest Park mixed-use development and will include an affordable housing component. Completion is slated for summer 2023.
BOSTON — The Wentworth Institute of Technology, a private university founded in Boston in 1904, will open a 640,000-square-foot life sciences facility at 500 Huntington Ave. in the city’s Longwood Medical District. Wentworth has selected a joint venture between The Fallon Co., Owens Cos. and Waldwin Development Co. to develop the property. The project is expected to create about 1,900 construction jobs and 1,500 full-time jobs upon completion. A construction timeline for the development, which will include retail and restaurant space, has not yet been finalized.
BELLINGHAM, MASS. — Newmark has negotiated the sale of Bellingham Distribution Center, a 345,000-square-foot industrial property located about 40 miles southwest of Boston. The facility was fully leased to restaurant equipment and foodservices supplier TriMark USA at the time of sale. A partnership between global investment manager Barings and Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. originally developed the building, which features a clear height of 36 feet, 70 loading docks and 45 trailer parking spaces, in 2021. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, Tony Coskren, Brian Pinch, Samantha Hallowell and Nickolas Revers of Newmark represented the seller in the transaction. LaSalle Property Fund purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.
SUNDERLAND, MASS. — MassHousing has provided $41.2 million in permanent financing for North 116 Flats, a newly built residential community in Sunderland, located in the northern central part of the state. Of the property’s 150 units, 38 are reserved for households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income. The remaining 112 market-rate units feature 329 beds that serve students at the nearby University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Amenities include a community building with common, entertainment, fitness and study areas, as well as dog parks, grilling stations and fire pits. Stuart I. Roosth designed the property, and Western Builders served as the general contractor. The borrower and developer was Landmark Properties Inc.
BRAINTREE, MASS. — Global medical technology company Integra has signed a 100,000-square-foot life sciences lease at 400 Wood Road in Braintree, a southern suburb of Boston. Hilco Redevelopment Partners purchased the 156,000-square-foot property in 2019 and converted it into a life sciences facility. Integra plans to take occupancy of the new space, which it will use to manufacture surgical reconstruction devices, in 2025. The move is expected to bring about 150 new jobs to the local economy. Cushman & Wakefield represented both the tenant and landlord in the lease negotiations.
EAST CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — A joint venture between LCOR, a development firm with three offices in the mid-Atlantic region, and San Francisco-based DivcoWest has begun leasing Park 151, a 468-unit apartment community located across the Charles River from Boston in East Cambridge. The 20-story building houses studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, 392 of which are market-rate apartments, 54 of which are affordable and 22 of which are penthouses. In addition, Park 151 features 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities include a pool and lounge area, outdoor grilling stations, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor yoga spaces, a terrace and coworking and micro-office spaces. Rents start at roughly $2,900 per month for a studio apartment.