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: Norfolk Spotlight: Randolph
After expanding its membership to Middlesex County and completing two mergers, the City of Boston Credit Union now has more than $500 million in assets and 31,000 members. Board Chairman Timothy Smyth sees these milestones not as the endgame but as steps to more opportunities for credit union members.
IN PERSON
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WEEK OF MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
MISSING MIDDLE
TRIPLE-DECKERS
$7 million
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Civico Development raised $7 million in private equity for a buy-and-hold strategy in Worcester. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: Civico Development
46 acres Worcester’s 46-acre Reactory life science park has attracted significant investment. See Jay Fitzgerald’s story on page B1. Source: Worcester Business Development Corp.
3 Civico Development found a middlemarket opportunity in Worcester tripledeckers. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: Civico Development
135,000 square feet A new 135,000-square-foot pie factory is being built in Worcester. See Tim Murray’s column on page B4. Source: Table Talk Pies
Developer Civico is modernizing 19th-century housing stock to appeal to the “missing middle” market segment for young professionals in Worcester.
4,400 acres Interest in the 4,400-acre Fort Devens site is growing among life science developers. See Lauren Liss’ column on page B5. Source: MassDevelopment
$110 million worth of biomanufacturing capacity is being built in Worcester. See Jay Fitzgerald’s story on page B1. Source: Worcester Business Development Corp.
13,000 square feet Connolly Brothers built a 13,000-square-foot destination brewery next to an Essex marsh. See Thad Minshall’s column on page B4. Source: Great Marsh Brewing Co.
$185,800 The median condominium sale price in Worcester so far this year. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
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.
Worcester Neighborhood Gets New Layouts and Energy Updates BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
T
riple-deckers have been part of the landscape in Massachusetts’ industrial cities for more than a century, providing workforce housing for generations of immigrants, working-class families and off-campus student renters.
In Worcester, Civico Development has combined in-house architectural savvy with sustainability strategies to reposition nearly 90 triple-decker units in the Bell Hill neighborhood near UMass Medical School for the growing professional and graduate student demographic. But unlike the condo conversions that have been widespread in Greater Boston, Civico is managing the portfolio with a buy-andhold strategy as rentals, a reflection of the relatively low housing prices in Worcester and demand for rentals in the “missing middle” rent tier.
“We identified a huge need for middlemarket housing,” said Taylor Bearden, a partner at Civico. “Historically, the tripledecker is extremely stable in terms of demand. There’s always going to be a market.”
$7M in Private Equity
Andrew Consigli, an architect-turneddeveloper whose older brothers run the Milford-based family construction business, founded Civico in 2015 to design sustainable multifamily projects outside Boston. Bearden, a Clark University
Continued on Page 7
ON TRIAL
NEW COMFORT ZONE
Legislature Granted Broad Deference in Extreme Circumstances
Need for Urgent Action Challenged Customers, Staff to Adapt
By Matt Murphy | State House News Service
By Diane McLaughlin | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Photo courtesy of Civico
$110 million
Judge Signals Landlords Unlikely Pandemic’s Demands Reshape to Prevail in Eviction Case How Lenders Adopt Tech
Residential Real Estate PAGE 3
Banking & Lending PAGE 9