(For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL and to read more on the multifamily market, click here.)
BOSTON-Berkeley Investments will undertake its first major redevelopment and construction project in the Fort Point Channel area with the creation of a $52-million project. When complete there will be 97 condominium units and ground-level retail space to a block-long stretch of Congress Street.
The project, known as FP3, calls for the renovation of two industrial buildings and the construction of a third, all of which will be topped by a three-story glass addition. The resulting eight-story, three-building interconnected project at 348-352 Congress St. will integrate the architectural elements of the surrounding neighborhood. It was designed by Boston-based Hacin + Associates.
Rick Griffin, vice president of acquisitions for Berkeley Investments, tells GlobeSt.com that the firm will begin marketing the studio, one and two-bedroom units in January at prices ranging from $350,000 to nearly $2 million. The units are expected to be sold out within two years.
The building is part of a 12 building portfolio Berkeley purchased for $100 million in 2004 from the Boston Wharf Co. The properties, which total about 700,000 sf, are located at 332, 348, 354, 368, 374 and 381 Congress St.; 12, 33, 34, 41, 44 Farnsworth St. and 22 Boston Wharf Rd. Two parking garages and four surface parking lots with space for nearly 1,000 cars were also included in the deal. Several of those buildings have already been updated or will undergo renovation in the future, including 368 and 381 Congress St., which will be revamped sometime within the next two years, Griffin says.
Berkeley recently signed its first retail lease at 348-352 Congress St. with celebrity chef Barbara Lynch, who plans to turn 14,700 sf of first and second floor space into a three "concept" restaurant. Lynch, an executive chef and restaurant entrepreneur who owns several restaurants and food businesses, expects to open a fine-dining restaurant with a casual-dining room and a retail area that will sell foods and liquor under a 10-year lease.
Berkeley has also signed a long-term lease with South End restaurant owner Joanne Chang to open a Flour bakery and café at 12 Farnsworth St.
Berkeley isn't the only developer turning the Fort Point Channel area into Boston's newest neighborhood. A partnership of the Archon Group and Goldman Properties, which last year paid $93 million to acquire 17 buildings from the Boston Wharf Co., plans to turn about one million sf into a mix of residential, commercial and retail space, including sidewalk cafes, art galleries and restaurants. The project is slated to cost $400 million and take the next five to seven years to complete.
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