Officially it’s known as Portside At East Pier, but a better name might be The Litmus Test.
Residents will begin moving into the 175-unit apartment complex on the East Boston waterfront next month, the first in an active pipeline of harborside developments. Roseland Property Co. hopes to find tenants willing to pay $2,400 for one-bedroom units in the 800-square-foot range, part of a phased project that could include up to 576 condos and rentals along with 70,000 square feet of commercial space.
The $65 million project will be a closely-watched barometer of the East Boston waterfront’s potential to attract higher-end rents and purchase prices, as developers fine-tune plans for hundreds more condos and luxury rentals on former industrial and wharf parcels.
“We’re the first out of the ground and I think it’s inspired people to move the projects forward,” said Joseph Shea, a senior vice president at Roseland.
Over the next few years, Roseland plans seven buildings containing up to 576 apartments, condos and commercial space on a 26-acre site leased from Massport. The project was originally approved in 2003 but stalled during the housing downturn.
Compared with new luxury rental towers in downtown Boston, which rent in the $3,000 and up range, the new East Boston properties will offer discounts of approximately 20 percent.
“The Seaport is somewhere around $4.50 a foot and we’re a dollar a foot less,” Shea said. “As an alternative, you have a pretty cool place to live in an established neighborhood with an established subway stop, as opposed to the Silver Line.”
Public Investment Primes Pump
East Boston is the latest neighborhood where public investments have enhanced real estate values and made long-neglected parcels more attractive to developers. Two city parks were modernized, the Maverick MBTA station was renovated and expanded to accommodate longer trains and a new public library branch opened.
A planned ferry service from the East Boston Marine Terminal to the Charlestown Navy Yard and South Boston’s Fan Pier could get under way by late 2015 after the initial round of bids for two 40-passenger vessels came in over budget last year.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority will readvertise the service this fall with the goal of offering rides every 15 to 30 minutes during rush hour, said Rich McGuinness, the BRA’s deputy director of waterfront planning.
Developers have focused on the Jeffries Point neighborhood because of its panoramic skyline views, the proximity of mass transit and availability of vacant waterfront parcels, including those formerly owned by the city and Massport. Commercial properties are being acquired, and commercial and residential properties are changing hands more frequently as longtime owners look to cash out, said Philip Giffee, executive director of East Boston-based Neighborhood of Affordable Housing Inc. (NOAH).
“The neighborhood is affected by what’s happening on the waterfront,” said Giffee, whose group is planning a 56-unit residential project on Border Street. “You’re seeing properties scooped up, sometimes by people who want to live here and sometimes by people who want to flip it.”
Giffee’s organization is attempting to line up $32 million in financing from city and state sources for Coppersmith Village, a mixed-income housing complex. NOAH acquired the parcel, currently occupied by vacant warehouses, in May for $1.6 million. Projected rents would range from $375,000 for market-rate condos to $222,000 for affordable units, while market-rate apartments are expected to rent for $2,100, compared with $1,100 for affordable units.
Shaving Development Costs
Three other developers are moving forward with major projects after revising plans to reduce costs.
Portland, Ore.-based developer Gerding Edlen is updating plans for 26 New St. Gerding Edlen acquired the property in January – now occupied by a vacant warehouse – after a previous developer failed to move forward with a 258-unit apartment complex.
The new plans, submitted to the Boston Redevelopment Authority in June, eliminate underground parking garage in favor of a three-level garage. They replace a previously-approved new six-story building with a three-story addition to the renovated main building.
Kelly Saito, president of Gerding Edlen, said the complex will attract tenants who can’t afford to live downtown but are attracted by the option of getting there in a two-minute ride on the MBTA’s Blue Line.
Boston-based developer Trinity Financial hopes to complete all state and local permitting by November on its 200-unit Boston East development on Border Street. Trinity recently eliminated 30 parking spaces and switched from steel to wood-framed construction. The company hopes to achieve rents of approximately $3.19 per square foot, vice president Abby Goldenfarb said, with amenities such as a community art gallery on the ground floor, roof deck and kayak launch.
Boston-based WinnCompanies is in the process of recapitalizing the $190-million Clippership Wharf residential project at 65 Lewis St. which originally would have included 400 condos and 670 parking spaces.
WinnCompanies is adding rentals to the mix and increasing the number of units, Vice President Chris Fleming said. It’s reducing the approved 670 parking spaces, as the city has relaxed parking requirements at sites near mass transit. The reduction in underground parking spaces near the waterfront will cut development costs, Fleming said, and average apartments will be decreased to approximately 850 square feet.
WinnCompanies is in talks to bring on an equity partner and expects to submit the updated proposal to the Boston Redevelopment Authority this fall.
“East Boston was a little behind, but finally the market feels right,” Fleming said. “There’s a lot of energy down there.”
Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com
