The Covid-19 pandemic has driven people to seek cheaper rents and more space outside of Boston’s core. With the ability to work remotely, many opted for Massachusetts’ gateway cities - peripheries that, after decades of disinvestment and falling population, suddenly became attractive destinations. What’s more, the region’s massive life science presence insulated many workers from the chilling economic effects of the lockdowns. Along with the movement of people out of Boston followed firms seeking additional space and cheaper rents. The result is booming “satellite cities” that encircle Greater Boston, featuring their own cultural and economic pull distinct from that of Boston itself. 

Among the growing municipalities north of Boston, Lowell has seen a resurgence in activity over the past decade. The emerging Hamilton Canal district, the approved development spearheaded by Lupoli Companies, will feature 125 residential units when completed and is part of the larger innovation corridor in downtown Lowell. In Lawrence, Lupoli Companies is in the final stages of leasing the last 338 luxury units at Riverwalk Lawrence - a transit-rich mixed-use development along the Merrimack River featuring nearly 4 million SF of space - and Aberthaw Construction is making headway on a fit-out of 370 Essex Street in downtown with plans to include 39 residential units.

​​“Our focus has always been on creating opportunities in gateway cities,” said Sal Lupoli, CEO and President of Lupoli Companies, “Adding new developments to the fabric of these communities can really help transform an area and drive economic growth. I am especially proud of all that we have accomplished at the Riverwalk Innovation District in Lawrence. We recently completed the final phase of our Riverwalk Lofts, adding 337 brand new market-rate luxury apartments with 10,000 SF of amenity space. This spring, we plan to open The Pavilion at Riverwalk, a regulation-size football, soccer, and lacrosse field on top of a brand new 1,250 car parking garage. We have more exciting developments on the horizon as well, as we continue to remain true to our mission of creating growth in the Merrimack Valley.”

Riverwalk Lawrence

Further down I-495 in Haverhill, Procopio Companies won approval from Haverhill City Council to develop a vacant site off Railroad Avenue on the south bank of the Merrimack River last spring. “The Beck” will feature 290 residential units along with a 75,000 SF public park acting as the gateway entrance into downtown Haverhill with site work about to begin. Down in Lynn, the company has been active in building out residential projects in the Central Square area, having finished the 10-story, 250,000 SF “Caldwell” last November, breaking ground on the “Mosaic”, a 147-unit residential development, and wrapping up demolition at 510 Washington Street to make way for the 319-unit, 300,000+ SF “Travers Crossing” tower in Central Square.

Mosaic Lynn

In addition to Lynn, Everett, Chelsea, and Malden have been the latest targets for renewal in Greater Boston’s core. Volnay Capital and its development arm V10 Development have been making progress constructing The 600 - an 85-unit mixed-use development in Everett while securing permitting for the SKY Everett, a nearby approved 240-foot tower that will feature 366 residential units. In Chelsea, Fairfield Residential is nearing completion on interior work at the Vero, a two-phase residential project featuring nearly 700 units.

SKY Everett

Downtown Malden has emerged as the latest destination for mixed-use and office developments with the recently-approved 11-17 Dartmouth Street. The project will feature a 9-story building featuring 150,000 SF of Class-A office space. A block away in Malden Center, the recently completed 200 Exchange is undergoing a fit-out for lab research space. Berkeley Investments pulled a $25M alteration permit for the building and will create 320,000 SF of life science space.

Boston’s South Shore has also been absorbing renewed interest and development, with many projects breaking ground on transit-rich sites. Brockton, while geographically close to Boston, has long been overlooked for investment until recently. Developer Trinity Financial broke ground on the two-phase Enterprise Block, located across the street from the Brockton MBTA commuter rail stop. The development will feature 224 residential units across a 149,000 SF multifamily building spanning a city block. Nearby, work wrapped up over the summer at Sycamore on Main, a new 6-story multifamily development featuring 48 units with Boston Beer Company occupying the ground floor.

Enterprise Block

As Boston plays a stronger role in the global fight against Coronavirus by utilizing its educated workforce, more and more investment continues to fill in its peripheries as companies from around the world move into the region to tap its life science infrastructure. In Boxborough, work is nearing completion on a 292,000 SF lab and viral production facility for Vibalogics. Over in Devens, a state-backed life science research park is taking shape. King Street Properties is currently developing a 700,000 SF life science research development named “Pathway” while Bristol-Myers Squibb is constructing a 244,000 SF biomanufacturing facility next door at 38 Jackson Road.

Pathway

Major real estate firms have taken notice of Boston’s western suburbs as a strong, emerging submarket. As a result, increasing investment in residential, industrial, and mixed-use properties has been funneled into the suburban submarket. In Northborough, Wheelock Street Capital acquired 11 Forbes Road - a 212,000 square foot, highly-improved and GMP-certified distribution and manufacturing facility - for $33 million. In Marlborough, Post Road Residential broke ground on the 475-unit Green District project, bringing residential units to an emerging research park off I-495. Along the I-495 corridor, Blackstone - a global real estate private equity firm - closed on a $175 million portfolio consisting of 6 industrial warehouses stretching from Franklin to Andover. “This was a dream outcome for AEW Capital Management, and a fun one to be part of,” said Roy Sandeman, First VP of CBRE “Congratulations to Blackstone’s Link Logistics Real Estate for winning what was an extremely competitive process, and adding 6 great assets to its growing industrial portfolio here in Boston.”

Further out, Worcester has become a magnet for investment and a center for life science innovation. The centerpiece of the city’s emerging development, Polar Park, was completed this spring and features a new 10,000-seat minor league baseball stadium for the Worcester Red Sox. Part of the larger Canal District development area, Madison Properties is creating a new neighborhood packed with mixed-use projects, including two multifamily developments featuring a combined 628 units, a 150-room hotel and "boutique" hotel of up to 110 rooms overlooking the ballpark, and 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. More recently, Madison Properties released plans for a 6-story speculative life science facility in the neighborhood. Named “SOMA”, the development at 10 Green Island Boulevard will feature 206,000 SF of research space.

Across the city on the former Worcester State Hospital site, Galaxy Life Sciences is building out the Reactory campus, a master-planned park containing two under-construction life science laboratories featuring 475,000 SF of biomanufacturing space.

SOMA Worcester

With seismic demographic shifts taking place in Massachusetts, driven by post-pandemic migration and a thriving regional economy, investment in Greater Boston continues to spill over into the surrounding “gateway cities” that ring the state’s capital. Transformative projects continue to shape traditional bedroom communities, office suburbs, and historically hollowed-out cities across Eastern Massachusetts with more and more developments marching westward across the state. Driven by an insatiable appetite for warehouse and lab space, strong demand for housing, and renewed investment in public transportation nodes that connect the region, money, and people will continue to pour into Massachusetts’ gateway cities and beyond state borders, reaching ever-farther out into New England. 

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