Exchange South End
Office and lab tenants including Sanofi Genzyme, Verizon and Wayfair gobbled up big chunks of space in Boston and Cambridge in 2018 and laid the groundwork for the growth of new development nodes on the urban edges in the coming year. As projects in Somerville, East Boston, Allston-Brighton and South End move forward, developers of large vacant commercial properties in Newton and Woburn are laying out plans for mixed-use projects totaling over 3 million square feet.
South End Office and Lab Market Gains Momentum
Touting an opportunity to launch a Kendall Square-like life science hub in Boston’s South End, The Abbey Group hopes to break ground in 2019 on a 1.6-million-square-foot office and lab complex at the former Boston Flower Exchange property on Albany Street. JLL Boston represents the Boston-based developer in leasing negotiations for the Exchange South End complex, which is approved for up to 840,000 square feet of lab-ready space. Burlington-based Nordblom Co. broke ground this summer on an 8-story speculative office tower atop its 321 Harrison Ave. garage, as commercial development spreads south of the Massachusetts Turnpike. In another phase of its Ink Block project at 217 Albany St., National Development will build Boston’s largest “co-housing” residential tower with hotel-like amenities and full-time community managers to coordinate activities.
Will Mohegan Sun Buy the Encore Boston Harbor Casino?
Massachusetts Gaming Commission officials launched an investigation into whether disgraced former Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn misled officials in his company’s application for the Greater Boston casino license, as the $2.5-billion Encore Boston Harbor casino nears completion in mid-2019. Wynn resigned as CEO in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. The commission has the power to revoke Wynn Resorts’ license. In November, Wynn sued the commission to block the release of its investigative report, and a Clark County, Nevada judge ordered the release postponed pending a court hearing on Jan. 4. The owners of Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino say they’re interested in buying the Everett casino if the commission rules that Wynn Resorts is an unsuitable operator. Mohegan Sun had unsuccessfully submitted a bid for the Greater Boston license.
Encore Boston Harbor
Fenway Developer Invests in Andrew Square
After transforming the Fenway’s Boylston Street corridor with luxury high-rises and new class A office space, Boston-based Samuels & Assoc. sees potential for a makeover of South Boston’s Andrew Square neighborhood. In September, Samuels joined Boston-based Core Investments as partner in the Washington Village development which was approved in 2016 but has yet to break ground. The project would include 656 condos and apartments, 17 percent of which would be income-restricted, and 100,000 square feet of retail space in buildings ranging from 3 to 21 stories.
Financial Firms Could Change Boston Skyline
Boston office tower developers looking for anchor tenants are paying close attention to real estate decisions by some of the city’s largest financial services firms which have upcoming lease expirations in the next few years. Fidelity Investments, State Street Corp. and Bank of America could kickstart construction of projects such as HYM Investment Group’s 1-million-square-foot One Congress office tower, part of the 2.9-million-square foot redevelopment of the Government Center garage property or anchor the 750,000-square-foot office segment in Millennium Partners’ Winthrop Center tower, which broke ground in October.
Suffolk Downs Approaches the Starting Gate
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo touted the 161-acre Suffolk Downs property on their border as a shovel-ready site for Amazon’s HQ2. After the online commerce giant opted for New York and Virginia instead, redevelopment efforts at the former racetrack will move ahead in 2019. Revere city councilors approved HYM Investment Group’s initial phase of development including 1,000 housing units, a 200-room hotel, 80,000 square feet of retail and a 35,000-square-foot Innovation Center coworking space, all on the Revere portion of the property near the MBTA’s Beachmont station on the Blue Line. Long-term plans call for more than 16 million square feet of development.
Stage Set for Sale of Widett Circle
The New Boston Food Market’s efforts to sell its coveted 19-acre parcel in South Bay were delayed by Boston’s industrial space crunch. The wholesale cooperative’s options are widening in 2019, as the new owner of Revere’s former Necco candy factory seeks to lease the 829,000-square-foot complex to industrial, life science and robotics tenants. A move by the food vendors would free up for development a large parcel that was Boston’s proposed site for a 2024 Olympics stadium and has been mentioned as a potential location for a New England Revolution soccer stadium.
City Ready to Unload Frontage Road Parcels
Walsh wants to sell the city’s 18-acre Frontage Road tow lot and municipal buildings to a private developer, after relocating functions such as vehicle maintenance to alternate locations. The mayor’s request sets up a potential showdown with city councilors, some of whom have demanded a say in the development plans before they vote to declare the property as surplus. Councilor Michelle Wu said affordable housing, resiliency and open space should be considered as part of the requirements. The Boston Planning and Development Agency wants to issue an open-ended request for proposals to receive the broadest response from developers, director of planning Sara Myerson said.
Steve Adams
Somerville Seeks Office and Lab Expansion
With the new Assembly station on the MBTA’s Orange Line complete and the Green Line Extension moving forward, Somerville developers are marketing transit-friendly properties to office and lab tenants. Federal Realty has 1.5 million square feet of additional commercial space approved at Assembly Row, including a 250,000-square-foot build-to-suit office pad. Next door at 5 Middlesex Ave., Cresset Development and Novaya Real Estate Ventures are marketing 650,000 square feet of office and lab space in a pair of towers in a 1.5-million-square-foot mixed use project known as Xmbly. In Union Square, New York-based DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners received final city approval for two office and lab buildings at 1 and 2 Earle St. totaling 374,000 square feet. And US2, the Chicago-based master developer of Union Square, got a deep-pocketed partner as USAA Real Estate Co. joined the development team for the 2.4-million-square-foot project which includes 1.4 million square feet of commercial space.
Union Point Developer on The Hot Seat
The glacial pace of commercial development efforts at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station took another hit after the agency in charge of the 1,450-acre property notified master developer LStar that it’s defaulted on its development agreement. The Southfield Redevelopment Authority is expected to decide in early 2019 whether to remove LStar from its role leading the project. The only announced commercial project, a 300,000-square-foot office and manufacturing building for Prodrive Technologies, is off the table after the company notified LStar in December it won’t move forward due to increased development costs, The Patriot Ledger reported.
Developers Seeks Approval for Big Newton, Woburn Developments
Commercial development isn’t completely stagnant in the suburbs. After acquiring the former 107-acre Kraft Heinz Foods property last spring, Boston-based developer Leggat McCall is seeking approvals for Montvale Commons, a 1.6-million-square-foot mixed-use development including 400 multifamily units. All 77 acres targeted for development are located within the Woburn section of the property, which also spans portions of Stoneham and Winchester. In a regulatory filing, developers said they may seek Massworks infrastructure funding for transportation upgrades. And in Newton, Northland Development is seeking to reshape the Upper Falls neighborhood by redeveloping the former Clarks North America headquarters. The city council is reviewing Northland’s proposed $650-million development including 822 condos and apartments.
