True North Seen Buying 88-Unit Adams Village from John M. Corcorcan Via Colliers

BOSTON—True North Capital Partners is taking a village here in Dorchester’s popular Adams Square, CRE sources are indicating in claiming the Concord-based multifamily investor has emerged as winning bidder for an 88-unit apartment complex developed and managed for nearly a half-century by John M. Corcoran & Co. Adams Village was listed for sale barely two months ago through Colliers International as unveiled in a June 27th Real Reporter article regarding an asset observers predicted then could trade for upwards of $25 million.

Whether it will attain such a figure is uncertain, with Colliers Capital Markets multifamily group leader Christopher D. Sower not responding as of press deadline to inquiries regarding the True North selection. As detailed previously, the two-building property comprising 725 and 735 Adams St. was peddled minus pricing guidance. Unavailable for comment was True North principal Jeff Bruce, his firm launched in 2009 with co-founder Mathew Glauninger targeting Class B apartment projects inside Route 128.

“It’s right up their alley,” one industry veteran remarks when concurring with other sources that True North has outlasted a lineup of competitors drawn by the infill property’s established track record keeping a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units close to full occupancy even in the face of numerous downturns and outright depressions endured regionally since 1968 when Adams Village came on line.

The prior Real Reporter article relayed Colliers was touting a variety of attention-grabbers, including recent Adams Village capital improvements by JMC and that venerable firm’s long-term upkeep of the asset. True North is known for tackling properties that in many cases need an extensive infusion of hands-on expertise and upgrades to realize ambitious returns promised—and often delivered—to the group’s equity backers. The firm which has bought approximately $300 million of multifamily in metro Boston lists internal rates of return for some harvested product that go from 34, 52 and 66 percent all the way up to 111 and 118 percent.

Adams Village has undergone renovations to about one-third of the apartments, that move by JMC helping to boost rents by 21 percent in the restored units, and Colliers said the prospect Boston will continue to see a super-tight housing market should benefit areas close to employment centers and near public transportation—Adams Square has both, Colliers pointed out, with the Red Line connecting to downtown and Cambridge in one direction and emerging Quincy Center via the southern rail.

Only six miles from the CBD, Adams Square is an eclectic neighborhood with multiple dining and retail options, as well as a new Boston Sports Club facility, Colliers also conveyed, the multifamily team besides Sower including Assistant VP Jennifer Price, Associate Jonathan Bryant and Client Services Specialist Maggie Collins. As recounted in the prior article, the Colliers multifamily group last summer negotiated another Dorchester apartment trade where 62 apartments fetched $12.1 million, or a bit over $195,000 per unit. Were Adams Village to reach $25 millon, that would crest $284,000 each for cost of entry there to buy a complex that will celebrate 50 years of existence in 2018.

In its ongoing maintenance efforts which had common areas redesigned in 2016, JMC within the last two years has replaced the boilers, electrical wiring and windows in both structures, the seller an experienced owner and operator based in Braintree whose local roots date to 1951, these days led by President Richard J. High. The unit mix at Adams Village is dominated by 41 one-bedroom formats—47 percent—with 26 two bedrooms and 21 studios. The inventory has 48 apartments in 735 Adams St. and the remaining at 725 Adams St. They are set on a 1.4 acre site large enough to accommodate 87 parking spaces, a coveted amenity in the thickly settled neighborhood. For motorists, access to downtown can come via multiple routes including Interstate 93, which can connect to downtown as quickly as five minutes.

Christopher Sower

Jennifer Price

Maggie Collins

Jonathan Bryant