Jefferies LoanCore Provides $60M Mortgage for Hingham Shipyard Retail Center

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Debt & Equity Finance team of CBRE/New England has negotiated $60 million in first mortgage financing with New York-based investment bank Jefferies LoanCore on behalf of real estate development company Samuels & Associates. According to Citybizlist, the loan will be used to secure The Launch at Hingham Shipyard, a transit-oriented shopping center located at 349 Lincoln Street at Shipyard Drive, on the former site of the historic World War II naval shipbuilding.

The Launch was designed by Elkus Manfredi and Jeff Pullman Architects as a mix of large retailers and small boutique shops to create a lively destination for visitors, residents and commuters alike. The waterfront shopping center kicked off in spring 2010 as part of a large redevelopment project of the historic Hingham Shipyard that broke ground in 2006.

Upon completion, the shopping center will include 220,000 square feet of retail space marketed by Eagle Rock Retail and anchored by 25 national retailers and restaurants such as Old Navy, Wahlburgers, Bed Bath & Beyond, Patriot Cinemas, Fresh Market and Trader Joe’s, as well as 30,000 square feet of office space.

The project also includes The Moorings, a 94-unit luxury condominium structure designed by DiMella Shaffer Architects that is currently under construction above the retail space, and an on-site parking garage with 1,500 spaces for retail customers.

Photos of The Launch at Hingham Shipyard via Eagle Rock Retail

Class A Office Building Breaks Ground in Somerville; Private Investors to Open Alcohol Distillery in Hingham

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Rockville, MD-headquartered Federal Investment Realty Trust is one building away from completing the first phase of Assembly Row, a $1.6 billion redevelopment effort in Somerville that aims to create a new, 45-acre neighborhood. According to the Boston Business Journal, the developer recently broke ground on a new speculative office facility with ground floor retail space.

Located at 450 Artisan Way close to MBTA’s new Assembly Square Orange Line Station, the four-story building is set for completion by the end of 2014. It will have three floors of Class A office space totaling 100,000 square feet, as well as 30,000 square feet of retail space that has already been leased to Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Papagayo and Legal C Bar.

Designed as a mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment, offices and residences located just minutes away from Cambridge and downtown Boston, the completed Assembly Row project (pictured) will include 2,100 apartment units, more than 500,000 square feet of retail space, and 1.75 million square feet of office space.

In further commercial real estate news, a private joint venture plans to construct an alcohol distillery in the South Shore Industrial Park in Hingham. According to Boston.com, private developers Robert Rohla of Hull will be involved in the project along with Patricia and Bradford Seeland of Scituate.

Called the Bradford Distillery, the facility would replace a 5,000-square-foot bay on Pond Park Road that the investors leased in June 2012. The city’s Planning Board will start the review and approval process on May 6 and, if approved, the small-scale manufacturing plant could start producing vodka, gin, brandy and artisan eau de vie—a brandy distilled from fermented fruits—by fall of this year.

Rendering via Assembly Row website

Schneider Electric’s Fifth Research and Development Center to Open in Andover

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Schneider Electric, a French energy technology company which employs over 130,000 worldwide, will add another facility to its network of research and development hubs which includes Grenoble (France), Bangalore (India), Monterrey (Mexico) and Shanghai (China).

The European giant is planning to consolidate all existing Massachusetts divisions in a new 235,000-square-foot research and development center in Andover, where as many as 730 employees are expected to relocate by the end of this year. As reported by the Eagle Tribune, the company plans to invest nearly $30 million in renovating an empty 160,000-square-foot office building in Andover and construct another facility of around 70,000 square feet.

Owned by Leggat McCall, a private real estate company based in Boston, the office facility (pictured) is located at 800 Federal Street and has been vacant for almost seven years. According to public records quoted by the Boston Business Journal, in 2010 Leggat paid $2.9 million for this property and another $5.6 million for another site located at 600 Federal Street. Two years later, the real estate company and Schneider Electric inked a lease agreement for the office building.

It is estimated that the new research and development center will create around 600 new jobs in Andover and attract other businesses in the town. To help Schneider Electric with this move, the township is working on a Tax Increment Financing agreement that would grant Schneider Electric a tax exemption between 5 and 100 percent of the value added to the property through new construction or significant improvement. According to the Tribune, Schneider Electric’s new research and development center will be partly financed by a $1.2 million Tax Increment Financing agreement over the next five to ten years, while the facility will generate at least $184,000 in annual property tax revenue for the town.

Image courtesy of Google Maps

Nauset Completes Rental Building in Cambridge; Developer Eyes Seaport District for Large Multifamily Project

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Nauset Construction, a real estate development company based in Needham, recently finished converting the former Holmes Building in Central Square in downtown Cambridge into 21 rental units. The $3.5 million redevelopment project was designed by The Architectural Team (TAT) for owner Central Square, LLC, and it called for interior and exterior renovations of the former C-shaped, seven-story office building located on Massachusetts Avenue.

“What made this project especially challenging was that we were working in a fully occupied building that had 24 hour retail and a dental office on the bottom floor,” said Nauset president Anthony Papantonis in a press statement.

Located within walking distance from Central Square’s Red Line Stop and close to Boston’s tech corridor—a highly sought after location for corporate housing—the 21 apartments are a much-needed addition to the area’s rental market. The renovated structure also includes a new fitness room, conference room, storage area and laundry room, as well as roof deck plazas for three units.

Meanwhile in Boston’s Seaport District, a much larger residential project could replace a vacant parcel at 399 Congress Street. According to the Boston Business Journal, in 2006 developer Madison Seaport Holdings LLC received approval to build a $100 million hotel at the site, but the plan had to be cancelled because of the recession.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is expected to decide on Madison Seaport’s new proposal during the April 23 hearing that will be held at ADD Inc. at 311 Summer Street. Reportedly, the development plan calls for a 22-story building with 414 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and a three-level underground parking facility with 144 spaces. The project also features a 12,000-square-foot lobby with retail space, innovation space on the building’s second and third floors, and 12,600 square feet of shared-use amenity space consisting of a fitness room, media room, and a game and lounge area.

Rendering of the Holmes Building courtesy of The Architectural Team

BRA Approves $150M Housing and Retail Development in Allston

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) board voted unanimously in favor of a $150 million mixed-use project that will redevelop a 2.67-acre parcel of land owned by Harvard University at the intersection of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue in the North Allston neighborhood.

The Barry’s Corner Residential and Retail Commons project was filed with the BRA by architecture firm Samuels & Associates back in December 2012 as a key component in revitalizing and knitting together campus and community space in this growing neighborhood.

As unveiled in the press statement by the architecture firm, the plans call for the construction of two buildings between six and nine stories totaling 350,000 square feet. Together, the buildings will contain 325 rental units, 45,000 square feet of ground floor retail space leasable by grocery stores, restaurants and coffee shops, and an outdoor open space area of 3,600 square feet. According to the BRA, 60 percent of the units will be studios and one-bedrooms, while the rest will be two- and three-bedrooms.

Also featured in the project is a below grade parking garage with 180 spaces along with 41 on-street spaces built on two streets created to facilitate access to Barry’s Corner and improve traffic flow, as well as car sharing and bike sharing services.

Samuels & Associates—which intends to seek LEED Gold certification for the Barry’s Corner project—also spearheaded the development of two other mixed-use projects, Fenway Trilogy and 1330 Boylston Street.

According to the BRA, it is estimated that this project will create 500 construction jobs and 250 permanent part- and full-time jobs.

Rendering courtesy of the Boston Redevelopment Authority