WOODBRIDGE, N.J. — Mill Creek Residential has broken ground on Modera Woodbridge, a 279-unit multifamily project in the Northern New Jersey city of Woodbridge. The property will be located adjacent to a New Jersey Transit station and will also house 6,000 square feet of retail space. Modera Woodbridge will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with an average size of 886 square feet and private patios or balconies. Amenities will include a rooftop deck with a barbecue area, fitness studio with a TRX system, resident clubhouse, conference room, coffee bar and a pet spa. Move-ins are expected to begin in late 2022.
SAUGUS, MASS. — JLL has arranged a $33.5 million loan for the refinancing of Saugus Plaza Shopping Center, a 208,500-square-foot retail power center in the northern Boston suburb of Saugus. The property spans 16 acres along Route 1 and houses tenants such as Petco and Kohl’s. John Fowler, Chris Angelone, Brett Paulsrud and Amy Lousararian of JLL placed the fixed-rate loan through HarborOne Bank and Salem One on behalf of the borrower, locally based development and management firm Finard Properties.
BOSTON — Locally based developer Related Beal is nearing completion of The Harris, a 172-unit apartment complex that will be located at the site of the former Quinzani Bakery in Boston’s South End neighborhood. Residences will come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and will be furnished with custom oak cabinetry, quartz countertops and tile backsplashes. Amenities will include an 8,000-square-foot fitness center with yoga and spin studios, as well as basketball and squash courts. In addition, residents will have access to a billiards lounge with reservable dining spaces and a 5,700-square-foot terrace with grills, fire pits, lounge furniture and TVs. Construction of The Harris began in 2019 and is expected to be complete in late spring.
NEW YORK CITY — Transit Wireless has signed a 32,499-square-foot office lease at 1400 Broadway in Manhattan. Michael Gottlieb, Susan Kahaner, Jennifer Ogden and Martin Cottingham of Avison Young represented the tenant, which is relocating to the 37-story building from 1350 Broadway, in the lease negotiations. Scott Klau, Erik Harris, and Neil Rubin of Newmark, along with internal agents Keith Cody and Shanae Ursini, represented the landlord, Empire State Realty Trust.
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has negotiated the sale of West Gate Townhomes, a 135-unit multifamily property in New Haven. Built on 10 acres in 1947, the community is located about four miles from Yale University and features one- and two-bedroom units. Victor Nolletti, Eric Pentore and Wes Klockner of IPA represented the seller, Eagle Rock Advisors LLC, and procured the buyer, West Gate Ventures LLC. The sales price was not disclosed.
PHILADELPHIA — KeyBank has provided financing for the acquisition and renovation of Awbury View Apartments, a 125-unit affordable housing property in Philadelphia that was built between 1924 and 1958 and renovated in 2004. The property sits on 3.6 acres and also houses three commercial spaces. KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment provided a $6.4 million 4 percent low-income housing tax credit construction loan, and KeyBank’s Commercial Mortgage Group secured a $21.8 million, fixed-rate Freddie Mac tax-exempt loan. Additionally, Key Community Development Corp. provided $10.6 million of equity. Jonathan Wittkopf, Robbie Lynn, Victoria O’Brien and John-Paul Vachon of KeyBank structured the financing on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Virginia-based Community Preservation Partners East and Hampstead Development Partners, which will invest about $11 million in capital improvements.
NEW YORK CITY — Art logistics company Maquette Fine Art Services has signed an industrial lease expansion at The Matsil Building in the Long Island City area of Queens. The company has committed to an additional 56,200 square feet to bring its total footprint to 150,910 square feet. Chris Pachios and Forrest Mas of North River Co., which owns the 282,350-square-foot property in a joint venture with North Colony Asset Management, negotiated the lease. The deal brings the building, which also houses tenants such as Ralph Lauren and Motorola, to full occupancy. Maquette also recently opened a new storage and operating facility in metro Boston.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Boston-based Berkeley Investments has purchased the historic Chase Mills building in the western Boston suburb of Watertown with plans to modernize the property’s utility systems and add life sciences space. Over the years, the 97,000-square-foot building, which is located at 64 Pleasant St. and currently houses the headquarters of architecture firm Sasaki, has also served as a paper factory and garment manufacturing plant. Sasaki sold the building, which it has owned and occupied since the 1950s, to Berkeley Investments for an undisclosed price.
BOSTON —Gazit Horizons, a subsidiary of global real estate firm Gazit-Globe, has purchased a 50,000-square-foot office and retail building located at 1430 Massachusetts Ave. in Boston. University Common Real Estate sold the property for $45 million in an off-market transaction. The historic building is located within the Harvard Square area and was originally constructed in the 1830s as a dormitory for the Ivy League university. Gazit Horizons will implement a value-add program that will renovate the lobby, common areas and building systems and will operate the building in a joint venture with private investment firm Hennick & Co.
NEW YORK CITY — Walker & Dunlop Inc. has arranged a $205 million loan for the refinancing of Hudson Research Center in Manhattan’s Midtown West neighborhood. Located along the Hudson River at 619 W. 54th St., the Class A life sciences and medical office property spans 320,000 rentable square feet. Originally built in 1930 as a film-editing house for Warner Brothers Pictures, the Art Deco property came to be known as The Movie Lab Building. Taconic Partners purchased the asset in October 2012 and undertook a capital improvement plan, including creating several floors of research space; updating the building’s façade, interior and crown; and adding tenant amenities such as bike storage and private showers. In 2017, Taconic recapitalized the asset with Silverstein Properties Inc. Since the end of 2013, the number of life sciences jobs nationally has increased by 70,000 per year, according to Walker & Dunlop. Demand for well-located, modernized life sciences and medical office space has soared nationally amid industry growth and lack of available product, adds the finance company. A Walker & Dunlop team led by Aaron Appel and Keith Kurland arranged the loan, with Square Mile providing the funds. The interest-only financing features a floating rate, …