CBRE New England Hired To Sell Chelsea’s One Webster

CHELSEA—Sometimes, it can be more revealing looking at whose name is on a mailbox than the address itself, and in this hardscrabble city across the Tobin Bridge from downtown Boston, having a John M. Corcoran & Co. apartment community next door to Inland Real Estate and their upscale One Webster shows how well-regarded the neighborhood has become, observes CBRE/NE principal Biria St. John, whose firm is now listing the latter asset for sale at an asking price of $24.9 million.

“That is really telling about how much things have changed,” says St. John of the parties involved in acknowledging 1 Webster Ave. “is on the market” and is expected to be a big draw for the very reason the complex is nearly 100 percent filled—pricing, with tenants flocking there to escape $4 and even $5 per sf rents in Boston’s Back Bay, Beacon Hill and Seaport for half the rate in a modern, institutional quality asset brimming with transit options to downtown Boston, including a water taxi. Similarly, pointing out that Somerville’s Maxwell Green traded at $470,000 per key this past week ($87.5 million), St. John says he expects investors far and near will consider One Webster at $207,500 a bargain for similar product sponsored by one of the country’s leading multifamily developers. Those aware of the listing are already responding favorably, he says, adding inquiries are coming “from a combination” of pension capital and private investors recognizing the sea change in Chelsea’s so-called Box District are underway. Sweetening the pot for those aiming to leverage their purchase is in-place financing of 3.3 percent from Fannie Mae.

“That’s a very attractive piece,” St. John says, especially given the real estate. “It’s great product at a very good pricing point,” says one half of the duo with Simon J. Butler that brokered $1.1 billion of multifamily last year. One Webster compares favorably to some of the very best tendered in that season, says St. John.

Situated next to Corcoran’s 238-unit Parkside Commons, the five-story structure at 1 Webster Ave. features a ground level with a day care center plus garage parking, with the residential levels above comprised of four studios, 52 one-bedrooms and 64 two-bedroom units. The average square footage of units is 797 sf, and all were constructed with “condoquality finishes” including euro-cabinets, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. Ceramic tile flooring in the bathrooms plus sconce lighting are among the other high-end additions, while select units have large walk-in closets, kitchen islands and custom storage areas. “It is extremely well built,” stresses St. John.

One Webster has an on-site fitness center, resident lounge with kitchen and on three levels has laundry facilities that are free for tenants. There is also on-site leasing and management plus a controlled entry system. Besides the quality construction, St. John says a useful selling point is the evolving neighborhood whose retail lineup includes Costco, CVS, Market Basket, Super Stop & Shop, Target and Walgreens, while dining options include Chili’s Bar & Grill, Panera Bread and TGIFridays. Tenant demand is also bolstered by Chelsea’s close proximity to Logan International Airport and multiple public transit options available to get employees back and forth, St. John relays. The community is also sandwiched between two sites being debated for a future casino sanctioned by the state, yet another driver of demand in the eyes of CBRE/NE. As it is, the existing demand has pushed Class A apartment rents in Chelsea up 10 percent and occupancy shoot up to 98 percent.