BOSTON — JLL has arranged a $585 million construction loan for Allston LabWorks, a 580,905-square-foot life sciences, retail and multifamily project in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. The borrower and developer is a joint venture between Boston-based King Street Properties, Brookfield and Mugar Enterprises.
Allston LabWorks will feature 534,000 square feet of lab space, 20,000 square feet of retail space and 35 multifamily units, about 25 percent of which will be reserved as affordable housing. The development will also house a 5,000-square-foot outdoor event area and a 668-space parking garage.
The site, which spans 4.3 acres at 305 Western Ave., is situated adjacent to Harvard University’s 350-acre Allston campus, which is home to the newly opened John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. The area is also near the campuses of Boston University and Boston College, with multiple MBTA Green Line stops nearby.
Greg LaBine and Amy Lousararian of JLL arranged the four-year, floating-rate loan through an undisclosed institutional debt fund. Construction of the project is underway, but a timeline for completion was not disclosed.
“The fact that we were able to move quickly on this loan in today’s market conditions speaks to the level of interest and confidence in Allston LabWorks,” says Mark Diminico, managing director at King Street Properties.
“The lender recognized these attributes early in the process and then delivered on the closing as stated in the midst of a volatile economic climate,” adds Labine. “This project will be good for the neighborhood, the tenants and the capital markets participants
According to JLL, the Boston market receives 30 percent of the total funding for U.S. life sciences projects, and employment growth within the sector is outpacing overall job growth by a ratio of 4:1.
— Taylor Williams