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.
CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — Keystone Property Group has received zoning approvals for the development of SORA West a transit-oriented mixed-use development in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken. Upon completion, SORA West will include a central plaza surrounded by a 250,000-square-foot office building, retail and dining space, a 171-key hotel, the existing Conshohocken Firehouse and a 950-space parking structure. The project will be located adjacent to the Conshohocken SEPTA train station, near Route 76 and Route 476. Keystone is now in the process of finalizing the plans and pursuing land development approvals. In addition to office, retail, hotel and community uses, the developer is assessing the viability of adding a residential component to the property. Keystone is headquartered in SORA East, which is located one block away from SORA West.
LANCASTER, PA. — HJ Sims has secured $98 million in financing for Brethren Village, a continuing care retirement community in Lancaster. In 2016, Brethren hired Sims to serve as senior managing underwriter for the proposed refinancing of 2008 bonds on the facility. Sims worked with Brethren Village’s independent municipal advisor to pair the refinance with financing to develop an independent living expansion project known as Northside Court. The financing consists of fixed-rate refunding bonds structured with serial and term bonds, a 25-year maturity and level annual debt service. The 2017 refunding bonds include optional redemption provisions of 10 years to enable Brethren to repay the bonds prior to maturity. The Northside Court project financing was structured as a variable rate, tax-exempt direct placement with one bank. The term of the bank commitment is 10 years with a 25-year principal amortization.
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.
BUTLER, PA. — Cambridge Healthcare Solutions has completed development of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare center in Butler. Cambridge teamed with Stantec for design and Mascaro Construction for construction of the building. The VA accepted the facility on May 26, and Cambridge will remain as asset manager throughout a 20-year lease. The 251,000-square-foot facility is located on 46 acres on Duffy Road and valued at approximately $110 million. The healthcare center is expected to open in late August will provide outpatient primary care, specialty services, mental health, dental, physical rehabilitation and women’s health care, augmenting services offered at an existing VA campus in Butler.
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 …
WEEHAWKEN, N.J. — Avora, a condominium development in Weehawken, has topped out at 11 stories, representing a significant construction milestone for the property, which offers views of midtown Manhattan. Landsea is the developer for the project. When complete, Avora will include 184 units and 6,000 square feet of street-level retail space. Initial occupancy is scheduled for first quarter 2018.
NEW YORK CITY — Construction has begun on Hotel Indigo, a brand of the InterContinental Hotels Group, at 8-10 Maiden Lane in the Financial District of Manhattan. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architect (GKA), the 90,000-square-foot hotel will include 24 stories and 190 rooms as well as a ground-floor restaurant and rooftop bar.
NEW YORK CITY — The Style, a pair of condominiums designed by Gene Kaufman Architect (GKA) and originally slated for delivery last summer, are now open at 51 E. 131st St. and 48 East 132nd St. in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. The Fane Organization was the developer for both properties. Located on a single parcel of land, the structures surround a 1,900-square-foot courtyard with trees, benches and tables. The 8,300-square-foot property at 51 E. 131st St. spans six stories and 12 units, while an adjacent 13,000-square-foot building spans seven stories and 19 units. The units in both structures are a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Amenities at The Style include a fitness center, recreation space and indoor bike storage. Pitchon Design Group handled interior design responsibilities.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — CBRE has negotiated the $4.2 million sale of 300 Niantic Ave., a 67,200-square-foot, single-story industrial building in Providence. ECP Niantic sold the property to Legacy Real Estate Ventures in a joint venture with ProPartners in Parking. CBRE’s Alden Anderson and Tom Barry represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Legacy Real Estate Ventures owns a portfolio of office, medical and industrial buildings in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. This is the company’s first collaboration with ProPartners in Parking, which acquires parking assets and other real estate properties on behalf of itself and its investment partners. Ed Riekstins of NorthMarq arranged financing for the property, which was provided by Ameritas. KBR, an affiliate of ProPartners in Parking, will provide property management services. 300 Niantic Avenue is located in Huntington Industrial Park and tenants include Calise Bakery, J. Polep, Rhode Island PBS and S.G. Torrice Co.