Here’s a round up of the latest real estate and development news from Central Massachusetts.
HOPKINTON
Affordable increase
Hopkinton voters approved a change to the Town's affordable housing fee-in-lieu formula at the May 2 Annual Town Meeting, passing the article by a 90-13 margin. The amendment to the regulations replaces a fee structure that sets the fee at the affordable purchase price of a required unit – roughly $225,000 to $250,000 – with new rules seeing fees pegged to the gap between the unit's market price and its affordable price. On a unit selling for $1 million, that translates to a fee of roughly $750,000, said
John Gelcich, the Town's director of land use, planning, and permitting. The intent is to disincentivize the payment option and build affordable housing instead, he said. Payments would go into the Town’s
Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Municipalities including Worcester and Natick in Central Massachusetts have fee-in-lieu structures as well.
Medical lease
Triune Chiropractic of Hopkinton signed a new lease for 4,280 square feet of office space at 35 Parkwood Drive from
NAI | Parsons Commercial Group - Boston in Natick.
Matt Cuneo, Victor Galvani, and
James Cannon of NAI | Parsons served as the leasing representatives for this transaction.
LEOMINSTER
Retail lease
An undisclosed tenant leased 8,365 square feet of retail space at 999 Central St. from
Paul’s Rental Center of Leominster.
Nate Nickerson of
Fieldstone Commercial Properties in Littleton served as the leasing representative for this transaction.
MARLBOROUGH
Office-to-mixed-use
North Carolina-based
Redgate Real Estate Advisors is requesting a zoning overlay from the
Marlborough City Council for three parcels near office buildings it owns at 26-62 Forest Street. The new residential overlay district covers about 31 acres of land and allows for multifamily development and a number of retail uses, with Redgate hoping to turn the sites into a mixed-use complex. During the council's April 27 meeting, the company explained the office properties had been underperforming, presenting conceptual ideas for the properties involving the construction of 400 apartment units. The concept would keep one office building but add ground-floor retail to it. Other possible amenities include pickleball courts and a dog park. The council will consider the overlay at a future, to-be-determined meeting. The site is directly across the street from a former office parcel being converted into 180 residential units by Southborough-based
Ferris Development and Georgia-based
PulteGroup.
SOUTHBOROUGH
Alcohol for Costco
Southborough Town Meeting members approved a home rule petition to the state on April 11 to allow for the municipality to be granted another allalcohol offpremises license. The license is intended for the new
Costco Wholesale Corp. location being constructed at 21 Coslin Drive, the site of a former
EMC building. The store will be the Washington-based wholesaler’s lone location in Central Massachusetts when it opens, although the company has been exploring a location at the site of
The Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster. The Southborough store is targeting a 2027 opening, with demolition at the site already underway. The Costco will feature a gas station, with Town officials expressing belief during the meeting the development will help spur more new businesses in the immediate area. Southborough’s home rule petition will be sent to the state legislature for approval.
SUTTON
Office sale
MAR J LLC, a Sutton-based entity managed by
James Fitzpatrick, purchased a property at 184 Worcester-Providence Turnpike featuring a 1,500-square-foot office building for $425,000 from
The Health Consultants Group of Connecticut.
Joe Laursen of
Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates in Worcester served as the listing broker for this transaction.
TEMPLETON
Affordable housing
The affordable housing lottery for
Baldwinville School Apartments in Templeton has begun. The 54-unit affordable housing development is expected to open this fall, featuring apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. The first multifamily housing development permitted in the town of roughly 8,200 residents in more than 25 years, 49 units are designated affordable for households earning at or below 30-60% of the area median income. The project was supported with tax credits, a municipal Community Preservation Act loan, subsidies from the
Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, and a loan from
Rockland Trust. Prospective residents can apply at www.baldwinvilleschoolapts.com. The deadline to apply is July 15.
WORCESTER
Downsized plans
Grafton Woods Luxury Living, a large apartment complex planned for 4 Brandt Lane, has received unanimous approval from the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals at its April 27 meeting to downsize plans for the site. After the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection appealed an order of condition related to the project, Holden-based
Brandt Lane Development modified its design, resulting in the project downsizing from 491 units to 448 units. The design change eliminated 56 parking spaces, bringing the project’s total to 737 spaces. Even with the downsizing, the development would be the largest market-rate apartment complex in Worcester, according to data from CoStar.
Retail sale
New Shrewsbury LLC, a Framingham-based entity managed by
Yuriy Blyakhman, purchased a property at 267 Shrewsbury St. featuring a 11,940-square-foot retail building for $3.9 million from
Draycott & Canterbury LLC, an Illinois-based entity managed by
Ted and Karen Sykes.
Nishan Papazian of
Greater Boston Commercial Properties in Northborough served as the listing broker for this transaction.
