Brookfield JV Buys Site For 6,500-Unit Project In Boston Suburbs
The long-stalled redevelopment of a former naval air base 15 miles south of Boston is ready for takeoff.
A joint venture of Brookfield Properties and New England Development paid $65M to acquire part of the 1,400-acre site of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, the companies announced Tuesday.
The team is proposing a massive development on the site that would include 6,500 housing units plus 2M SF of commercial space, saying it would make it the largest residential and commercial project in the state.
The JV didn't say exactly how large a piece of the base was included in this deal, but a spokesperson told Bisnow it has now acquired or secured the rights to acquire 1,300 of the site's 1,400 acres. Its release included statements from several elected officials celebrating the sale as a key milestone for efforts to redevelop the site.
"This redevelopment will create thousands of new homes, support good-paying jobs and transform a long-underutilized site into an engine of opportunity for the South Shore," Gov. Maura Healey said in the release.
The developers acquired the parcel from lender Washington Capital Management, which had taken control of the site from prior owner LStar Ventures in 2019 after its redevelopment efforts stalled, Banker & Tradesman reported. The air base closed in 1997, and more than 1,000 residential units have been built by prior developers.
The Southfield Redevelopment Authority selected the Brookfield and New England Development venture as the new master developer in early 2020.
The team sought a much larger development on the site than the 2,855 units that were allowed under previous zoning. In November, the state legislature approved new zoning guidelines, The Boston Globe reported at the time. The developers had previously received approvals from the three local jurisdictions in which the former base sits: Weymouth, Abington and Rockland.
Weymouth received a $32.5M grant from the state in August for infrastructure improvements for the site, including water service, sewers and roads.
The project would preserve more than 880 acres of the former base to provide open space, recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat, the team stated.
The developers expect to begin work this fall on infrastructure improvements.
“We are excited to be moving forward with the Base—a project that will have significant benefits to the towns of Weymouth, Rockland and Abington, as well as the region, and will create job and housing opportunities so urgently needed in the Commonwealth,” New England Development Executive Vice President John Twohig said in a release.
Based in Boston, New England Development has built many projects across the region over the past 50 years, including the CambridgeSide Mall redevelopment, Allston Yards and Chestnut Hill Square. New York-based Brookfield is one of the largest commercial real estate investors in the world, with $277B in assets under management.
