Renovations
843 Columbia Road | Dorchester
Residential - 3 apartments
843 Columbia Rd was an existing 3 family building in Dorchester bordering South Boston. The building's proximity to the JFK red line stop makes it an ideal location for commuters and young professionals. An extensive renovation, BREC began with restoring the façade and recaptured livable square footage in the basement to create a spacious floor-through duplex unit. Construction on the project began December of 2019 and the units were scheduled for delivery by Summer 2020.
65 Beech Glen Street | Roxbury
Residential - 2 Rental Apartments
65 Beech Glen was a historic single-family home in the highly desirable Fort Hill neighborhood. Purchased in August 2017, the project represents an opportunity to transform a large, underutilized lot while maintaining the fabric of the surrounding area. This as-of-right one to two-family conversion is representative of how BREC got its start.
Construction on the project began in October of 2017 and the first unit was delivered September 2018. The second unit, which required BPDA design review due to the expansion of the first floor, was delivered in June 2019. The project also marks the first in which BREC self-performed work as a general contractor.
14-16 E. Springfield Street | Boston
Residential - 6 apartments
BREC purchased this property in May 2010. At that time, it was a vacant two-unit building with a history of tenancy that was a nuisance to the neighborhood. The building was born in the early 1960’s from a failed social experiment of replacing run-down brick row-house buildings with pre-fabricated concrete structures, specifically designed to be low-income housing. BREC purchased the building right as the 40 year affordability restrictions were expiring and saw an opportunity to work with the neighbors on a plan to re-develop the blighted building.
At the time of purchase, BREC decided it was most prudent to approach the project in two phases. After an in depth analysis of the building and zoning code, BREC established an as-of-right four-unit plan that was a logical intermediate step to the ultimate development plan and a good alternative if the ultimate design was not approved.
It took 6 months of planning and construction to reach this intermediate step; but this multi-phased approach stabilized the building and afforded BREC time to work through the permitting process to get the second phase approved. Over the next eighteen months, the development team worked in collaboration with the immediate neighbors, the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association (WSANA) and the City of Boston's Landmarks Commission to refine the design and program of what would eventually be a 6-unit, 5 1/2 story building.
Today, 14-16 E Springfield Street serves as a perfect example of how BREC leveraged a unique ability to look beyond the obvious and deliver a project that earned the approval of community stakeholders and City historic and zoning commissions, without compromising the end result.
304 Newbury Street | Boston
Residential - 6 apartments
BREC purchased this property in April 2012 after the previous owner, whose family had owned the building since the 1920’s, sought out BREC with an interest in selling the property. Though BREC’s primary focus is multi-family residential, and this property had a commercial component, BREC had a keen interest in acquiring off-market A+ property.
On a street where building valuations are driven mostly by commercial uses and after early discussions with the seller, BREC realized that in order to meet the value expectations of the seller it needed to assign a higher value to the commercial space, which BREC could only accomplish by bringing on an institutional partner to purchase the retail units. Although BREC seeks outright ownership in its property interests, it had to think outside-the-box to end up with these six highly desirable units on Newbury Street. BREC drew on one of its local relationships with a retail-focused investor to structure a deal that allowed it to acquire what other multi-family focused developers may have written off as too complicated.
In January 2012, the renovation of the residential units at Newbury Street was completed and six furnished rental units were brought to market.
94 Charles Street | Boston
Residential - 9 apartments
94 Charles Street (formerly the Charles Street Inn) hit the market for sale in Spring of 2012. Configured as a hotel, and having been operated that way for 10+ years, the path to get to the highest and best use as a residential apartment building would be complicated and time consuming, and so the property sat on the market for over 5 months. Utilizing its experience navigating the City's entitlement process, BREC was able to take an out-of-the-box approach and reach an agreement with the Sellers that gave them a path to a sale and BREC time to obtain the permits to convert the nine-room hotel to a nine-unit apartment building. BREC worked with the Beacon Hill Civic Association to earn support for the zoning variances it needed to pull permits. Come April 2013, with permits in hand, BREC purchased the property and began a six-month renovation. Upon completion of the renovation in Fall 2013, nine, short-term furnished rentals were delivered to meet the needs of the City's hospitals, businesses and educational institutions.
