NEWTON, MASS. — Austin Street Partners, a joint venture between Oaktree Development and Dinosaur Capital Partners, has completed 28 Austin, a 68-unit multifamily development with 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in Newton, a western suburb of Boston. Resident amenities include a fitness room, dog park, resident lounge and rooftop seating with a fire pit. Residents have already moved in. Caffé Nero, a bakery and café, is expected to open in early 2020.
PORTLAND, MAINE — CBRE has brokered the $20.8 million sale of Bayside Village, a 101-unit apartment community in Portland, located approximately 60 miles south of Augusta. Located at 32 Marginal Way, Bayside Village comprises a five-story residential building with 3,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities include bike storage, a resident lounge, business center with print station, laundry facility, outdoor space and a billiards room. The property previously served as a student housing community. The buyer, Port Properties, plans to upgrade the property to increase the overall unit count to 206 residences. Simon Butler and Biria St. John of CBRE, along with Dan Greenstein of The Boulos Company, represented the seller, Blue Vista. The CBRE team worked with Joe Porta of Porta & Co. to procure Port Properties as the buyer.
BOSTON — Pennrose Development and LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc. have unveiled plans to convert William Barton Rogers Middle School in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood into a 74-unit, LGBTQ-supported affordable seniors housing community. The $33 million project will transform the existing structure into a residential building with 74 units of income-restricted rental units. Tenants must be at least age 62, and the community will be specifically welcoming to seniors who identify as LGBTQ, according to the developers. The original school was built in 1899 on 74,000 square feet of land and closed in June 2015. Boston-based architecture firm DiMella Shaffer designed the project. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Monticello Asset Management LLC has provided a $40 million loan for the refinancing of an assisted living facility in The Bronx. The borrower and name of the facility, which features 256 beds, were not disclosed. The borrower recently completed an extensive renovation of the facility, including updates to the resident rooms, lobby, common areas and landscaping. Monticello provided the long-term financing for the borrower after it received full licensure in New York and has since stabilized the operations and performance of the facility.
ORANGE, CONN. — Scannell Properties is underway on construction of a 47,178-square-foot distribution center in Orange, a western suburb of New Haven. Located at 161 Marsh Hill Road, the facility will feature 76 loading docks, 5,858 square feet of office space and an additional 9,680-square-foot maintenance facility. Meridian Design Build is the general contractor. Construction is slated for completion in June 2020.
PARSIPPANY, N.J. — NAI James Hanson has negotiated a 12,000-square-foot retail lease for specialty grocer Indian Stream LLC in Parsippany, located approximately 30 miles west of New York City. The building features 122 feet of highway frontage as well as attached warehouse space. Darren Lizzack and Randy Horning of NAI James Hanson represented the landlord, Peak Realty Associates LLC, in the lease negotiations. The duo also represented Indian Stream.
With older, pure-play retail space being repurposed into mixed-use developments and e-commerce-resistant users growing their regional footprints, the Boston retail market is evolving in lockstep with that of the United States. At the same time, new, trendy retailers and restaurant concepts are vying to get their feet in Boston’s door, drawn to the market’s healthy fundamentals and above-average levels of disposable household incomes. The net result of all this activity is a revitalized retail landscape that is defined by rapid absorption and rent growth within quality existing spaces, the repurposing of older spaces into different uses and the rise of mixed-use developments as backdrops for new supply additions. According to World Population Review, Boston, a city spanning some 100 square miles, is the fourth-most densely populated metro area in the country. Fueled by a vibrant education scene that includes more than 20 colleges and universities, as well as the addition of 25,000 new jobs in 2019, the population is growing. These geographic and demographic fundamentals have all but ensured that demand for retail space in Boston is perpetually strong, even during economic downtimes. According Marcus & Millichap, the city proper’s retail vacancy rate currently sits at 3.3 percent, though it …
NEW YORK CITY — Facebook has signed a 1.5 million-square-foot office lease at Hudson Yards in Manhattan. The social media giant will occupy space across 30 floors and three buildings at the mixed-use development, including approximately 1.2 million square feet in 50 Hudson Yards, 265,000 square feet in 30 Hudson Yards and 57,000 square feet in 55 Hudson Yards. Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group developed 30 Hudson Yards. Related Cos., Mitsui Fudosan America and Oxford Properties Group developed 50 and 55 Hudson Yards. Cushman & Wakefield represented Facebook in the lease negotiations. Related Cos. was self-represented.
PLAINFIELD, N.J. — Paramount Assets is underway on Netherwood Flats, a 70-unit multifamily project that will include 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in Plainfield, located approximately 25 miles west of New York City. The building will offer one- and two-bedroom apartments and close access to Netherwood transit station. Construction is slated for completion in spring 2021.
WARRINGTON, PA. — LCS Real Estate has acquired The Solana Doylestown, a 98-unit seniors housing community in Warrington, located approximately 20 miles north of Philadelphia. LCS Real Estate brokered the transaction, and Life Care Services will provide management services; both are LCS companies. The community opened in 2016 and has a total of 70 personal care apartments and 28 memory care residences. Financial details and the name of the seller were not disclosed.