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THE REAL REPORTER
2
April 27, 2015
BRA Gets Second Shot at Gulf Trade
BY JOE CLEMENTS
B
ROOKLINE — The
fate of a nondescript gas station
set here on the endlessly active corner at
Brookline Avenue and
Route 9 has taken a
Michael d’Hemecourt fresh twist, having been
listed by Boston Realty
Advisors for owner
Cumberland Farms Inc.
in spring 2013 before
the client changed
course and sought town
approval to build a new
prototype store with
Christopher D. Sower
fuel
pumps.
That
endeavor, however, was
later turned down on
the premise, explains Parcel 135, aka 25 Washington St., Brookline MA
BRA principal Jason S. deserves a more distinctive future than
Weissman, that the plunking down another convenience
site’s perceived pedi- store/gas station.
gree as gateway to the
The upshot? BRA has again been
Jason S. Weissman Longwood Medical Area instructed to find a taker for the 18,500-sf
parcel that Weissman maintains has been
enhanced by the town decision in suggesting a new owner will be blessed with creating a bigger development for a property
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THE REAL REPORTER
36
April 27, 2015
BRA Brookline Listing
continued from page 2
Parcel 135 in relation to the Longwood Medical Area, Boston MA
anchored by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tiative aimed at promoting multifamily
and so well-regarded it was bought in Sept. development in more communities.
To reflect a residential option for
2013 for $121 million—over $700 per sf—
Parcel 135, the BRA multiby Clarion Partners, which
family practice group is on
cited the nearby LMA as a
the case, that program led
key attraction.
We think it is one
Deep demand for multiby Christopher D. Sower
of the best
family units make that use a
and including Jennifer
development sites Price and Benjamin Karp.
valid idea as well, Weissman
in the Northeast.’
observes, with many of the
BRA President and retail
surrounding
apartment
ace Michael d’Hemecourt is
buildings and condominipitching in as well, and
ums occupied by LMA
financing options are being
JASON S. WEISSMAN
denizens. The average
provided by debt and equiBoston Realty Advisors
annual household income
ty practice leader Nicholas
for the surrounding area is $90,000 and Herz. “It’s a big assignment,” says
BRA reports that a 40B residential project Weissman. “We want to get the word out
is possible given that Brookline does not to everyone about this amazing opportunimeet the housing affordability target ty coming available again in an absolutely
n
which would blunt the state-mandated ini- world-class location.”
“
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whose current allowed floor-area-ratio is
1.0. “Given the recent developments in
this vicinity, there is a strong possibility of
achieving a higher FAR,” BRA conveys in
new marketing materials peddling what is
being called “Parcel 135” via a proposal
being rolled out this week, with site visits
to follow and final bids accepted shortly
after that process.
In acknowledging that the asset is again
available for sale by his Boston-based firm,
Weissman says the BRA
Capital Markets team is
“ecstatic” at having
another chance to market the property, especially in a much-stronger
economic climate. “We
think it is one of the best
Nicholas M. Herz
development sites in the
Northeast,” Weissman
declares, doing so based
on the message being
ostensibly sent by the
town combined with
functional benefits of
Parcel 135 such as being
at a signalized intersecJennifer Price
tion and a lot that “provides exceptional visibility and immediate
access to the area’s most heavily trafficked
roadways,” with 20,000 vehicles passing by
on a daily basis. One of the thoroughfares,
Brookline Avenue, leads directly to the
215-acre LMA that houses some of the
world’s leading medical institutions in 15.5
million sf used by over 50,000 healthcare
professionals and their patients. Multiple
MBTA bus routes connect the two areas
which are a mere 10-minute walk away, not
to mention the Gulf station at 25
Washington St. is also part of the eclectic
Brookline Village business district that features the MBTA Green Line trolley connecting to Longwood, downtown Boston
and Cambridge.
“There are a ton of possibilities,”
Weissman says of potential concepts for
Parcel 135, among the most intriguing being
medical office space that could serve as an
overflow to the exceedingly tight LMA
inventory—in one estimate sporting a mere
2 percent vacancy. The notion is further validated in the neighborhood’s Ten Brookline
Place office building, a 175,000-sf structure
nd
North E
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