Boston Realty Gets Second Shot at Gulf Trade Parcel in Brookline

BROOKLINE — The fate of a nondescript gas station set here on the endlessly active corner at Brookline Avenue and Route 9 has taken a 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 fuel pumps..That endeavor, howeer, was later turned down on the premise, explains BRA principal Jason Weissman, that the site’s preceived pedigree as gateway to Longwood Medical Area 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 coneys 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 that 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 development sites in the Northeast,” Weissman declares, doing so based on the message being ostnsibly sent by town combined with functional benefits of Parcel 135 such as being at a signalized interstection 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 healtcare 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 anchored by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
and so well-regarded it was bought in Sept. 2013 for $121 million—over $700 per sf—by Clarion Partners, which cited the nearby LMA as a key attraction.

Deep demand for multifamily units make that use a valid idea as well, Weissman observes, with many of the surrounding apartment buildings and condominiums occupied by LMA denizens. The average annual household income for the surrounding area is $90,000 and BRA reports that a 40B residential project is possible given that Brookline does not meet the housing affordability target which would blunt the state-mandated nitiative aimed at promoting multifamily development in more communities. To reflect a residential option for Parcel 135, the BRA multifamily
practice group is on the case, that program led by Christopher D. Sower and including Jennifer Price and Benjamin Karp. BRA President and retail ace Michael d’Hemecourt is pitching in as well, and financing options are being provided by debt and equity practice leader Nicholas Herz. “It’s a big assignment,” says Weissman. “We want to get the word out to everyone about this amazing opportunity coming available again in an absolutely world-class location.”