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WEEK OF MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017
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A Publication of The Warren Group THE TEAM TREND
NAR Says Real Estate Teams Are A Serious Threat To Brokerages Massachusetts’ Brokerages See Well-Managed Teams As An Asset
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All Roads Lead To Wellington OFFICE AND MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPERS PUSH MALDEN, MEDFORD PROJECTS
BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
erhaps counterintuitively, the National Association of Realtors DANGER report lists successful real estate teams as one of the biggest threat to brokerages. But that’s because successful teams have a tendency to outgrow their brokerages and become the competition. Massachusetts brokerages see if differently. They embrace the team concept and manage, rather than fear it. Real estate agent teams in the commonwealth tend to have three to seven members, said Merit McIntyre, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New England. That’s a very different structure from teams in the western part of the county, where teams of up to Continued on Page 8 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Community Banks Not Deterred By High CRE Concentrations High Concentrations Alone Do Not Signal Problems, Say Banks And Regulators
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RIVER’S EDGE
BY BRAM BERKOWITZ BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
ome members of the Federal Open Market Committee in July expressed concern that “smaller banks could be assuming significant risks in efforts to expand their CRE (commercial real estate) lending.” This concern – that banks are amassing high concentrations of CRE loans while easing underwriting standards – is one regulators have repeated publicly since early 2016. But the warnings have not dulled CRE growth or spooked community banks in Massachusetts, who continue to take advantage of low interest rates and a strengthening economy to bulk up their CRE portfolios. “Over the last 18 months, there has been Continued on Page 10
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BY STEVE ADAMS | BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
ellington Circle’s 28 lanes of converging traffic may be a scourge for motorists, but are a lure for developers. They view its 200,000 daily vehicle counts as a formula for replacing tired strip malls with higher uses, such as office parks and multifamily housing, near the Medford-Malden line. Factors intensifying redevelopment projects in the area include the success of Federal Realty’s nearby Assembly Row in Somerville, the lure of transit-oriented development near the MBTA’s Orange Line station, new parks and improving connections to the long-inaccessible waterfront, and potential ripples from the 2019 opening of the billion-dollar Wynn Boston Harbor casino in Everett. “Wynn is going to drive employment in that area and more entertainment down the road from where you live,” said Lars Unhjem, vice president of development for Mill Creek Residential, which is nearing completion of the 347unit Modera Medford apartment complex off Revere Beach Parkway. “It reinforces our positioning here: that you’re just outside downtown Boston with discounts from those costs and improving amenities.” On the office side, developer John Preotle is in talks with a potential anchor tenant to jumpstart construction of an approved 115,750 office/ lab building in the River’s Edge development on Revere Beach Parkway. Malden-based Combined Properties is building a 55,000-square-foot speculative office building at 295 Canal St. in Malden, where economic development officials are looking to the industrial Commercial Street corridor as a potential growth area for highwage jobs.
Bouncing Back From Telecom Bust The state created a regional authority, the Mystic Valley Development Commission, in 1996 to oversee redevelopment of 215 acres on both sides of the Malden River spanning portions of
Office and multifamily developers say Wellington Circle fits many of the criteria for successful projects including MBTA Orange Line access and planned improvements to pedestrian and bicycle connections.
More than a decade after a Telecom City strategy failed, economic development officials are looking to attract job growth with a mixed-use development strategy around Wellington Circle.
Continued on Page 9
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Banking & Lending ������������������������������������������������� 10
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Classified Sections ������������������������������������������������� 11
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Commercial & Industrial ������������������������������������������ 9
Records Section ������������������������������������������������������ B1