Latest Morrissey Boulevard Listing by Colliers Could Yield 160,000 SF

BOSTON—The 1.8 acres opened up by this winter’s closing of Dorchester’s beloved Old Colony House restaurant can deliver nearly 160,000 sf using an FAR of 2.0, industry watchers tabulate regarding the infill parcel Colliers International has sprung onto the market to commence May with, an exclusive at 780 Morrissey Blvd. pitching a joint venture or ground lease opportunity. Via either arrangement, Colliers client Bay Colony Associates intends to retain a stake at the site which abuts the southbound side of Interstate 93.

Besides automobiles, MBTA Red Line service headlines multiple transit-oriented nodes trundling past an eclectic commercial complex featuring Boston Bowl, two hotels and the landmark Phillips Candy House, those and the Old Colony House and adjoined Freeport Tavern run by the Sammartino and Strazzulla families since 1989. Shuttering of the restaurant and lounge is enabling the owners to monetize a portion of the legacy at a time when the surrounding neighborhood is awash in transformational projects, Colliers details in counting 39 such ventures completed or underway.

Colliers Senior VP Christopher Sower tells Real Reporter 780 Morrissey Blvd. “is right in the middle of everything happening . . . and the possibilities are wide open” for the latest arrival to that pipeline of divergent projects. The multifamily practice group he leads is “running point” on the assignment, yet while Sower concurs his team’s role could infer that residential may be deemed “the highest-and-best use,” he explains attractive elements of the site such as its sheer size, “superior visibility” and having the larger assemblage of thriving businesses there do mandate a broad approach to promoting 780 Morrissey Blvd.

“We are already getting a good response with some interesting inquiries,” says Sower who praises the clients as “absolutely great people” who certainly are among the most prolific family owned operations imaginable, for decades running the restaurant as well as managing the bowling alley and candy store— where treats are concocted in-house and even made Oprah Winfrey’s favorites list—plus the bustling Ramada Hotel and Comfort Inn. “They are extremely hard working and a wonderful client,” Sower says. As to the development site, “they would like to get it back in (circulation) and creating cash flow,” he says while declining to provide an asking price, observing that “it is a moving target” depending on what use wins out and how the agreement is arranged.

The multifamily argument for 780 Morrissey Blvd. where as of right a building can rise 45 feet cites market-rate residential developments reaping over $4 per sf even as metropolitan Boston has absorbed a number of new units coming on line, the resilience demonstrated in a vacancy rate trending down to 5.2 percent at the end of Q1. Meanwhile, REIS projects rent growth locally between last year and 2020 will hit 16.5 percent in an already pricey living landscape. “The multifamily fundamentals remain impressive even with the new inventory,” conveys Sower.

Other members of the multifamily sales team on the 780 Morrissey Blvd. assignment are Assistant VP Jennifer Price, Associate Jonathan Bryant and Senior Client Services Specialist Maggie Collins. Support is coming from Capital Markets leaders Scott Dragos and Douglas Jacoby and their contingent, while Co-Chairman Kevin Phelan and Executive VP Jeff Black are helping formulate the ownership agreement. Market expert Dan Collins is providing real-time activity information.

The Colliers team approach is evident in other recent assignments including one featured in this past week’s Real Reporter where A.D. Makepeace Co. has engaged a contingent led by Black and Phelan to peddle a 200-unit apartment community in Plymouth, one where the multifamily division is charged with finding a partner for the master-planned development. Closer in to Boston and not far removed from Morrissey Boulevard, Sower and crew is advising prospects interested in 609 Fourth St. on the multifamily aspects of the former school building which is zoned for that use and also falls in line with priorities of the Mayor Martin J. Walsh administration to create more housing across the Hub.

In the South Boston instance, Colliers President James Elcock is joined by David Goodhue, Bill Lynch and Ryan Healy plus Sower entertaining offers that include not just multifamily but also academic, medical and office uses at the 44,000-sf structure. “We are busy,” Sower says of his unit which already has one major trade under its belt this season, that being the $38.5 million result for 47 apartments at 103 Arch St. and 153 Milk St. in downtown Boston purchased in March by the Hoffman Cos. from local investors William Thibeault.

Jonathan Bryant

Jennifer Price

Christopher Sower