Turn to page B1 for Banker & Tradesman’s monthly coverage of all things commercial real estate.
THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Worcester Spotlight: Lancaster
IN PERSON
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Ashley Nagle Eknaian did not start her financial services career working with technology, but after almost two decades in the industry, she’s found her way to the top at Eastern Labs, Eastern Bank’s fintech incubator.
WEEK OF MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
Completion of the first large-scale office-lab building in Somerville’s Boynton Yards, a 289,000-square-foot project at 101 South St., could be followed with a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development.
HOT POCKET
175,000 square The size of US2’s first building in Somerville’s Boynton Yards. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: US2
250 The number of units per year created under Chapter 40R zoning since 2014. See Christopher Vaccaro’s column on page B3. Source: DHCD
$60-$70 The range of typical per-squarefoot rent for Alewife-area lab space. See Jay Fitzgerald’s story on page B1. Source: Colliers International
$93.12
117 acres The size of the urban renewal plan in the Boynton Yards area. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: City of Somerville
$635 million The purchase price for 75 State St. See Week on the Web on page 2. Source: Suffolk Registry of Deeds
1.1 million square feet Total lab space in the Alewife area. See Jay Fitzgerald’s story on page B1. Source: Colliers International
1 The number of stops from Union Square to the burgeoning biotech hub at Cambridge Crossing. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: MBTA
Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module and/or proprietary database. For more information please visit www.thewarrengroup.com/business/ datasolutions.
A RACE TO MEET THE TRAIN
IN SOMERVILLE Boynton Yards Has Head Start on Lab Construction BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
S
omerville’s past and future collide in Boynton Yards, a pocket of industrial parcels on the cusp of a development wave. Luxury condos overlook scrap metal yards, a commercial laundry and auto body shops. A four-story manufacturing building best known as the
home of the Taza Chocolate factory has added a group of venture capital-backed startups, ranging from robotics manufacturers to virtual reality researchers, in less than two years under new ownership. The new breed of tenant bodes well for new office and lab construction. Bostonbased Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners of New York envision a life science cluster tapping into the proximity to Kendall Square and the 2021 arrival of the MBTA’s Green Line Extension. After breaking ground on a 289,000-square-foot office and lab build-
ing at 101 South St. two months ago, the developers this month closed on a $23 million transaction for an adjoining 3.1acre site, giving them over 6 acres for a planned 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development. “Every developer in the world has been down here knocking on doors,” said Bernard Gibbons, a broker for Cambridgebased ABG Commercial Realty. “It’s hard to put [development sites] together because there’re not a lot left. You really had to be here three years ago.” Continued on Page 7
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Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3
Banking & Lending PAGE 9
Image courtesy of Leggat McCall Properties
The median per-square-foot rent for East Cambridge lab space. See Alan Koder’s column on page B5. Source: CBRE