of 2015
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! See this year’s results, B1.
Est ab li s h e d 1 8 7 2
the
www.bankerandtradesman.com
WEEK OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015
financial
services
and
real
estate
weekly
for
massachusetts
A Publication of The Warren Group COMMERCIAL INTEREST
REBUILDING BROCKTON
STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BROCKTON DOWNTOWN AMBITIONS GROW BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
B
rockton is a 35-minute train ride from Boston’s South Station and a century removed from its thriving era as an industrial hub that nearly 100 shoe companies called home. The decline of the city’s manufacturing base brought rising crime and poverty, and the post-war suburban boom emptied the downtown of many of its stores and restaurants. In 2015, the downtown has emerged as the focus of a multi-pronged strategy to rebuild the city’s core. The initial phase of Boston developer Trinity Financial’s mixed-use Enterprise Block development, which opened in August, contains the first market-rate apartments built in downtown Brockton in decades.
More than 100 residents and downtown stakeholders attended a recent planning workshop, discussing the district’s shortcomings and talking about ideas for public programming such as festivals and farmers’ markets to generate more foot traffic. “They’re focused on growing the economy, keeping up the pipeline of projects and making sure the city and commonwealth continue to invest in Brockton,” said Matt Zahler, senior project manager for Trinity Financial. “If they can do that, we can continue to bring private investment on the scale they need to revitalize the city.” Economic development officials view the 113 loft units as a potential down payment on a larger redevelopment program. The city is looking at breaking out the major tools for economic revitalization in the Bay State, including district improvement financing (DIF) to pay for projects designed to make a 191-acre area safer for visitors and more attractive to investors. It’s considering a major Continued on Page 12
Havoc In The Suburbs EMC/Dell Merger Could Have Ill Effects On 495 Office, Residential Markets BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST
J
ust when demand for office space and homes appeared to be finally picking up out on 495, in strides Texas computer giant Dell to mess things up. There’s a lot of happy talk coming out of corner offices at Dell and EMC on the heels of the big announcement of their blockbuster, $57 billion mega merger. We are told that EMC’s local presence will only grow bigger as it becomes the combined company’s hub. Certainly the compensation packages of the top executives at both companies will expand dramatically, I’ll grant you that. However, history shows there have been few merges without layoffs and this deal is no different, despite the spin Joe Tucci, EMC’s chief executive, and Michael Dell are eager to put on it. Layoffs likely mean lots of office and other commercial space hitting a 495 office market that just recently got back to where it was before the Great Recession hit. Continued on Page 3
MORTGAGE REGULATIONS
CFPB Sharpens Focus On MSAs Some Lenders, Fearing Prosecution, Terminate Marketing Agreements BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
T The first 113-unit residential phase of Trinity Financial’s Enterprise Block redevelopment in downtown Brockton is 100 percent leased.
CONTENTS Points ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Residential �������������������������������������������������������������� 8
Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 14
By The Numbers ������������������������������������������������������� 6
Banking & Lending �������������������������������������������������� 9
B&T’s Best �������������������������������������������������������������� B1
In Person ������������������������������������������������������������������ 7
Commercial & Industrial ���������������������������������������� 10
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ C1
he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued new guidance on marketing service agreements (MSAs) that have lenders who use them on the defensive. Some were scared into hyper-vigilance, and some have elected to stop doing them altogether. “It appears that many MSAs are designed to evade RESPA’s prohibition on the payment and acceptance of kickbacks and fees,” a CFPB press release dated Oct. 8 said. In a typical MSA, a lender pays money to a real estate agency to rent a desk in its office. The owner of the agency makes a little extra money and the lending officer gets marketing exposure to the agents in the office and their mortgage-seeking clients. Continued on Page 8