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WEEK OF MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2016
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A Publication of The Warren Group MORTGAGE MARKET
Lenders Relax Requirements Slightly
NOT OUT OF AMMO Athenahealth has proposed seven new buildings and a new parking garage at its Arsenal On The Charles office campus in Watertown.
Mortgage Market Still Mindful Of Meltdown BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
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ortgages have gradually become more available to consumers since the spring of 2012, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). As lenders loosen up on loan requirements, how loose is too loose? During the most recent home-buying boom, homeownership rates in the U.S. reached 69.2 percent in June 2004. The residential foreclosure avalanche that followed is generally seen as evidence that credit was too easily available in the preceding years. As of Jan. 28, 2016, the U.S. homeownership rate was 63.8 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the MBA’s chief economist and senior vice president Mike Fratantoni said that’s about where it ought to be. “If you look from the 1960s to the 90s, we were somewhere in the 64 [percent to] 65 percent range,” Fratantoni said. “That’s an equilibrium of a sort that the economy returned to from time to time. If you look over the next decade, our population is aging. Our best guess is that we’ll wind up in that range over the next decade.” Continued on Page 8 COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
State House Considers Zoning Reform Bill Calls For Dense TransitOriented Development In The Suburbs BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
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s Beacon Hill finally waking up to the fact there is a serious housing crisis here in Massachusetts? Maybe, but don’t bet the house on it. House and Senate lawmakers are pushing proposals this spring to boost new construction in hopes of reining in runaway home prices, but it remains to be seen whether our fearless leaders have the fortitude for the painful changes needed to actually get more homes and apartments built. After all, that’s really the only way we will ever be able to put dent in our crazy prices. The key to this question will depend on what happens with the most ambitious of a Continued on Page 3
WATERTOWN
TURNS IT UP TO 11 Zone Change Clears Way For Arsenal Redevelopment BY STEVE ADAMS | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
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atertown has given the green light for residential and commercial buildings up to 11 stories, in a landmark policy change that could spur more development along the Arsenal Street corridor already swarming with new apartments, offices, hotels and buzzed-about restaurants. The rezoning is a major milestone for Boston-based Boylston Properties, which hopes to redevelop the 33-year-old Arsenal Project mall property into an Assembly Row-like destination. The plan, according to Founding Principal William McQuillan, includes up to four new buildings with apartments above retail shops and restaurants. The new structures would be built in front of the existing mall along with two parking garages, while the shopping center would undergo reconstructive surgery to add exterior-facing storefronts. McQuillan also is weighing the idea of a residential tower up to 15 stories, which would require another round of local permitting. Continued on Page 9
East Watertown Development Athenahealth Master Plan 311 Arsenal St.
250,000 square feet of new offices and mixed-use space, parking garage Developer: Athenahealth
Arsenal Project
485 Arsenal St. Mixed-use residential and retail expansion Developer: Boylston Properties
The Gables
202 Irving/58 Irving St. 300 apartments, 37,000 square feet of retail Developer: Hanover Co.
LINX
490 Arsenal Way 185,595-square-foot industrial-to-office conversion and expansion Developer: Boylston Properties
CONTENTS Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
NEFMA Awards ������������������������������������������������������� 12
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 9
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 14
Residential �������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������ 10
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1