SOMERVILLE, MASS. — Colliers Capital Markets has arranged $192.5 million in construction financing for the development of 100 Chestnut Street. The life sciences project totals 208,616 rentable square feet in the Brickbottom District of Somerville, a first-ring suburb of Boston. The plans also call for nearly 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and two levels of below-grade parking.
The borrower, North River Leerink (NRL), is developing the property as part of a larger mixed-use “campus for discovery and innovation,” which will include labs, creative offices and retail space on 4.5 acres of contiguous land.
Scheduled for completion in summer 2023, the four-story, Gensler-designed facility will be built to LEED Platinum standards.
Square Mile Capital Management provided the construction funds. Jeff Black, Kevin Phelan, Sean Burke and Bryan Koop led the Colliers Capital Markets team representing the borrower.
“This financing marks a major milestone for the transformation of Somerville’s Brickbottom District into a world-class hub for innovation and wellness,” says Black. “Metro Boston remains the most active and liquid life sciences market in the world, and 100 Chestnut Street is well-positioned to catalyze the region’s next great ecosystem.”
The site runs parallel to 150 & 200 Inner Belt Road, a 7.9-acre assemblage owned by a joint venture between NRL and Wheelock Street Capital that includes a fully occupied, 191,089-square-foot lab, office and fine art storage building. Additionally, the Inner Belt Road property offers a 3.4-acre development site. The proximity of these respective development sites offers NRL an ability to build upon its life sciences node near Boston.
The property is positioned adjacent to the newly developed East Somerville Green Line T Station and Community Path paved trail. It is less than a half-mile from Cambridge’s Kendall Square and Cambridge Crossing, which is the epicenter of greater Boston’s life sciences industry. Nearby tenants include Finch Therapeutics, Flagship Pioneering, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi and Thrive Bioscience, among others.
NRL is a life sciences and healthcare real estate joint venture between New York City-based developer, investor and operator North River Co. and Boston-based Leerink Development.
— Jeff Shaw