Somerville, MA
12/2/2019

Ceremonial Groundbreaking Marks Progress of 101 South, First Building of Boynton Yards Redevelopment

289,000 SF commercial building will jump start mixed-use redevelopment, attract tech and life sciences to Somerville

Somerville, MA, December 2, 2019 — DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners (DLJ RECP), Leggat McCall Properties (LMP), Shawmut Design and Construction, and Spagnolo Gisness and Associates were joined by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, City Councilor J.T. Scott, neighbors, and community members to celebrate the official groundbreaking on 101 South Street in the Boynton Yards neighborhood of Somerville, MA.  This nine-story, 289,000 SF Class-A lab building will be the first structure built as part of the largest state-of-the-art lab development in Somerville’s growing life science market. While site and foundation work began earlier this year, the event celebrated the positive progress on the first building as well as the transformative vision for Boynton Yards.

“Today we celebrated the start of the first phase of a project that aligns with so many of Somerville’s goals,” said Mayor Curtatone. “When 101 South Street is complete it will be home to jobs in the life sciences, retail, and the arts; include new residential units; and add more open space that residents can enjoy. As we continue to develop neighborhoods like Boynton Yards, I hope we’re able to work with partners like DLJ, Leggatt McCall Properties, and Shawmut that want to build projects that move our community forward.”

“Realizing the long term value of the Mayor’s broad vision to revitalize Union Square, Boynton Yards, and the rest of Somerville is the reason we were first attracted to Somerville well over five years ago. Now we have begun the exciting work of creating a new place that respects the creative, industrial roots of the neighborhood and responds to the culture and needs of Somerville today,” said John Fenton, Principal of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. “This will be the first piece of a modern multiphase development that will bring together Somerville’s growing professional and artistic community with the new pioneers of the life science world in a vibrant mixed-use community of lab/office, residential, retail, and creative arts space.”

101 South Street is the first phase of what is envisioned to be an 18-hour, work-live-play neighborhood offering over one million square feet of commercial, residential, retail, arts, and performance spaces, along with various public green areas on a 6.54-acre parcel of land. DLJ RECP and LMP are currently developing an overall master plan for the site with the City of Somerville and its planning staff and engineering team.

“There is no substitute for what strong civic leadership, community support and private investment can do to improve development opportunities and spur economic development in now dormant areas that have the potential to impact an entire city,” said Rob Dickey, Executive Vice President of Leggat McCall Properties. “The transition of Boynton Yards from its industrial roots of the last 100 years to a reimagined vital tech and life sciences hub with housing, new infrastructure, streetscape, and open space will be one to watch as we continue to collaborate with Mayor Curtatone, his team, and the Somerville community.”

Shawmut Design and Construction, the general contractor, along with architects Spagnolo Gisness & Associates (SGA) and Hashim Sarkis Studios (HSS), is executing the ground-up building now under construction at 101 South Street. The mixed-use facility will match the quality and specifications of other Class-A buildings while providing state-of-the-art lab space, including advanced wet and dry R&D labs in column free space geared toward emerging tech and life sciences companies. In addition, it will offer abundant open public space, engaging first floor retail, dedicated areas for community arts uses, and four levels of underground parking.

“We are tremendously proud to bring the vision of Boynton Yards to life, helping lead the future of Somerville with a transformative project that reflects the historic fabric of the community while creating a modern and innovative work-live-play neighborhood,” said Kevin Sullivan, Vice President at Shawmut Design and Construction. “101 South Street will mark a pivotal point in the transformation of the area into a vibrant, mixed-use district that will fuel innovation and growth. Our team is expertly navigating the challenges that come with working in an urban environment to deliver a true state-of-the-art space that will serve both the city and surrounding communities.”

Boynton Yards is located adjacent to cultural amenities in Somerville’s Union Square and Cambridge’s Inman Square, and is less than one mile from Kendall Square, the epicenter of the biotech and life science industry. 101 South Street is expected to be completed by late spring 2021, with initial tenant occupancy beginning in the summer to align with the completion of the planned MBTA Green Line station in Union Square and a $140 million infrastructure modernization plan to improve the area’s public realm.

 

About DLJ RECP:  DLJ RECP is an independent, vertically-integrated real estate investment management firm targeting investment and development opportunities in the dynamic neighborhoods of major US cities. DLJ RECP was founded in 1995 and has offices in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. To date, the company has executed over 200 real estate investments with a total transaction value of over $16 billion, representing over $4.5 billion in invested capital. Across DLJ RECP’s 20+ year history, the firm has built a strong track record of success through ground-up development and intensive redevelopment real estate projects. DLJ RECP’s projects include large scale residential, office, and retail developments, as well as historic redevelopment and preservation projects all built to an institutional standard.

About LMP: Founded in 1965, Leggat McCall Properties is a leading real estate owner, developer and service provider to corporate, educational, healthcare and other clients in the Greater Boston Area.  Over the past 10 years, LMP has had a leadership role in over 42 million square feet of project development, representing more than $10 billion of investment. The company has executed on 15 projects over $200 million, 50 over $50 million, and has also developed or acquired approximately $3 billion in assets as principals, including research and life science, mixed-use, office, and residential properties. The firm has a dominant presence in the rapidly growing life sciences, higher education and healthcare industries and serves many of the area’s top universities, healthcare systems and biotech companies, including Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Draper Laboratory, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

About Shawmut Design and Construction: Shawmut Design and Construction is a $1.5 billion national construction management firm with a reputation for completing extremely complex and logistically challenging projects for the most high-profile clients in the industry. As an ESOP (employee-owned) company, Shawmut has created a culture of ownership, proactive solution-making, and forward thinking. Eighty percent of its business comes from repeat clients, proving there is a strong focus on building lasting partnerships.  Shawmut’s unique business model allows project teams to better service clients by focusing their specialized expertise within one of the following areas: Academic, Tenant Interiors, Cultural & Historic, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Hotel, Luxury Homes, Restaurant, Retail, and Sports Venues. Shawmut has offices located in Boston, Providence, New York, Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. For more information, please visit www.shawmut.com.

 

Media Inquiries: 

LMP/DLJ
Caitlin Vanderbilt
caitlin.vanderbilt@lmp.com
(617) 422-7023

Shawmut
Kevin Corsino
KCorsino1@shawmut.com
(857)-225-5274

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