Banker & Tradesman August 17, 2015

Page 1

of 2015

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Est ab li s h e d 1 8 7 2

THE

FINANCIAL

www.bankerandtradesman.com

WEEK OF MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015

SERVICES

AND

REAL

ESTATE

WEEKLY

FOR

MASSACHUSETTS

A Publication of The Warren Group COMMERCIAL INTERESTS

Falling Behind

Developer Normandy Real Estate Partners recently sold the new TripAdvisor headquarters in Needham for $133 million and now proposes an additional $300 million mixed-use project on nearby parcels.

SUBURBS IN FLUX

Studies: Boston Lagging In Housing Starts, Job Growth BY SCOTT VAN VOORHIS BANKER & TRADESMAN COLUMNIST

W

e like to think we are so amazing here in Massachusetts, especially in Greater Boston – the envy of the nation, if not the world. To any doubters, we can simply point to development boom that is seeing new tower and research palaces take shape from downtown Boston to Route 128 as evidence that everyone wants to be in the Hub of the Universe. But while there is certainly a lot going on by local standards, we are far from a unique success story, with the Boston area outperformed by several major metro markets in both total construction and job growth. We barely make the top 10 in development and we are a disappointing No. 14 for job growth, according to a pair of Forbes surveys. In fact, sky-high home prices may be the only area in which we are one of the undisputed champions; we have some of the highest housing costs in the country. Unfortunately, that’s not due not to any positive attribute, but rather to our maddening inability to build the kind of modContinued on Page 3

LEGAL TRENDS

Caution And Care No Longer Enough Attorneys Warn Lenders: Foreclose With Extreme Caution BY JIM MORRISON BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

A

fter a handful of relatively recent court decisions that voided and reversed foreclosures, attorneys are advising lenders to be more careful – even go above the letter of the law – as the pace of foreclosure filings on homes in Massachusetts continues to ramp up. Benjamin Wish is a complex commercial litigator at Todd and Weld LLP. He said even if a lender does all that is required by state law, a court could still invalidate a foreclosure sale under a lesser-known legal duty called the “duty of good faith and reasonable diligence.” “The duties of good faith and reasonable diligence are broad,” Wish said. “Courts have said that especially when a lender is selling a foreclosure to itself, it has a duty to the borrower to obtain as high a price as possible,” Wish said. Wish said the Supreme Judicial Court Continued on Page 8

N2 Corridor

Busy With Development Projects Target Needham, Newton Office Parks

N2 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE 77 A St. and 145 and 189 B St., Needham • 423,000 square feet of offices, 390 apartments, 128-room hotel, 1,900 square feet of retail • Developer: Normandy Real Estate Partners • $300 million • Status: In permitting

2 Wells Ave., Newton • Expansion of office building from 68,000 to 132,000 square feet • Developer: Wells Avenue LLC and The CCS Cos. • Status: Approved

BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF

N

eedham changed its zoning to allow taller buildings along Route 128 and snagged TripAdvisor as a trophy tenant for a tired business park. A subsequent $300-million phase of development would transform a three aging research and development buildings into two office buildings totaling 423,000 square feet and a 128-room hotel, with plans for 390 apartments waiting in the wings. Normandy Real Estate Partners’ latest plans are part of a continuing effort to update low-density office parks and create some of the energy and walkability of downtown neighborhoods. It’s the largest in a series of development projects along the N2 Innovation Corridor, a 500-acre section of Needham and Newton just east of Route 128. TripAdvisor’s old Newton offices are being converted into retail space, while Newton officials and a developer are clashing over an attempt to build housing in the Wells Avenue office park. TripAdvisor’s new global headquarters, which opened in June, is the most visible symbol of the N2 Corridor’s changing landscape: a 282,000-square-foot monument Continued on Page 9

141 and 165 Needham St., Newton • Former TripAdvisor headquarters • Conversion of 109,000 square feet of office space into 87,000 square feet of retail • Developer: Crosspoint Assoc. • Status: Approved

Wells Avenue, Newton • 334-unit Chapter 40B affordable housing complex • Developer: Cabot, Cabot & Forbes • Status: Before state Housing Appeals Committee

Sources: Needham Economic Development, Newton Economic Development, N2 Innovation Corridor

CONTENTS

Residential .............................................................. 8

Banking & Lending ................................................ 10

Points ....................................................................... 4

In Person .................................................................. 7

Classified Sections ................................................. 11

By The Numbers ....................................................... 6

Commercial & Industrial .......................................... 9

Records Section...................................................... B1


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