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The Los Angeles developer that built Boston's $950M EchelonSeaport complex is providing financing for a mixed-use project less than 2 miles away in South Boston.
Cottonwood Group has extended a $130M loan to a group of property owners that plan to build up to 2M SF of mixed-use development along the fast-growing Dorchester Avenue corridor, the Boston Globe reports.
The 5-acre site includes the Castle Self Storage facility at the intersection of Dorchester and Old Colony avenues, plus a car wash and other low-rise buildings. The owners plan to redevelop the site with up to 2M SF of multifamily, lab, office and hospital space, according to the Globe.
Cottonwood told the Globe that the success of the three-building, 700-unit EchelonSeaport project, its first deal in Boston, led it to expand its sights to other parts of the city. The firm said it is providing the $130M in loans to purchase debt, refinance existing mortgages and provide new acquisition financing, but it hasn't been asked to serve as the developer of the project.
The properties are owned by Bold Colony LLC, an entity registered to Michael Gardner, who appears to be the general manager of the Super Shine Autowash on the site.
The project, for which the owners have yet to file development plans, would be the latest in a wave of new development along Dorchester Avenue. The growth comes after the Boston Planning and Development Agency in 2016 finalized a new plan for the 144-acre area that envisioned 12M SF to 16M SF of new development, with more than half of it housing.
National Development has been one of the most active developers in the area. It redeveloped a former warehouse directly across the street from the Castle Self Storage site into a creative office and retail complex that landed tenants including Tatte Bakery & Cafe and Castle Island Brewing. One block away, the developer received BPDA approval in December for a 1.1M SF project with lab, office and residential space at 323-365 Dorchester Ave.
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