First come the condos.
Now that the Boston Globe’s longtime base of operations in Dorchester is officially on the market, speculation is centered on what comes next for the 16.5-acre property. The smart money has it that housing is at the top of the list.
Even as thousands of luxury apartments are under construction in Greater Boston, investors are focusing on the condo market for future projects, said Frank Petz, a managing director in the capital markets group at JLL in Boston.
“That is definitely a target for investors, to deliver that sort of product,” he said.
Interest in the property site at 135 Morrissey Boulevard is expected to remain high, given the size of the parcel.
“There are very few large sites that can be master-planned in Greater Boston,” Petz said. “This is a small scale, but somebody’s going to create a ‘there’ there.”
Colliers International, which has been retained by the Globe to market the property, declined a request for an interview. In a prepared statement, the firm said the site has the potential for up to 1.4 million square feet of development and that by-right uses include multifamily housing, offices and retail.
Since its acquisition by Red Sox owner John Henry last October, the Globe has begun the search for a new site for its newsroom, business offices and printing operations. The Globe presses in Dorchester also publish the Boston Herald, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Patriot Ledger, Enterprise of Brockton and local editions of the New York Times.
The Globe isn’t expected to move from the property for “years, not months,” according to CEO Michael Sheehan. The newsroom and business departments will move closer to downtown Boston, Sheehan told Banker & Tradesman. Henry also owns the Millbury-based printing presses of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which he will retain if he is able to find a buyer for the Worcester paper.
The Globe property is assessed at $40.3 million by the city of Boston, which sets the 2014 land value at $21.5 million. But that number offers little guidance when it comes to predicting a potential sale price, Petz said. The number will be correlated to how much square-footage is permitted for new development, Petz said.
Environmental cleanup costs also would factor into a developer’s cost calculations. In 1996, the Globe hired Quincy-based Green Environmental to conduct a risk assessment on the site. The company submitted documents to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection stating that the property was not suitable for future residential use. The report said soils contained lead contamination in the area of underground fuel tanks previously stored on the site.
Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com
