'Progress is occurring': Nobscot Plaza new owner plans to build 150 new apartments, retail
FRAMINGHAM — After years of decline, an $11.6 million deal puts Nobscot Plaza under new ownership with plans to transform it into a mixed-use development featuring retail and 150 apartments.
“Progress is occurring,” said District 1 City Councilor Christine Long, whose district includes the Nobscot neighborhood. “There is a plan to go forward with the existing plans that were permitted back in 2019 and '20.”
Long said she worked closely on the plans while serving as chair of the Planning Board.
What is Nobscot Village?
Nobscot Village will be a mix of amenities in two buildings. A north building, which will face Water Street, will feature nearly 10,000 square feet of retail space. Separately, a south building will feature an outdoor swimming pool, function patio and indoor bike storage.
The two buildings will include at least 150 housing units — a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments — as well as parking.
According to site plans proposed in 2019 and approved in early 2020, created by Hawk Design Inc., the village will include lawns, a mix of shade, flowering and evergreen trees, bike racks, a plaza for café seating and a sculpture. There will also be a pocket park next to a spot earmarked for “occasional food truck parking,” according to the plans.
Earlier this month, the proposal went back before the Planning Board to make changes that were “administrative in nature,” according to the meeting agenda and minutes. Long said there were no structural changes to the plan.
“We had inadvertently omitted some language about the workforce housing and affordable housing, so that was the reason it had to go back to the Planning Board,” she said. “It took years to get that plan and there’s no plan to change the plan.”
Who bought Nobscot Plaza?
Framingham Nobscot, LLC, purchased 770 Water St. — Nobscot Plaza — on Dec. 1 for $11.6 million.
Paperwork forming Framingham Nobscot, LLC, was filed with the state on Nov. 23. The principal office — the business that runs the LLC — is Wheelock Street Capital, LLC, a Connecticut-based real estate investment firm.
Managing partners Merrick Kleeman and Jonathan Paul; principal and CFO Lawrence Settanni; and partner and head of acquisitions Jeffrey Laliberte were listed on the paperwork registering the LLC that purchased the plaza.
Peter Spellios, of Transom Real Estate, a Boston area real estate developer, was also on the paperwork, and the resident agent in the state is listed as the Boston location of Corporation Service Company, an international business that provides legal, tax and brand guidance.
This is not Wheelock Street Capital’s first foray into MetroWest real estate. In 2016, the company, along with Novaya Real Estate Ventures, purchased a building in Hopkinton. Earlier this year, they closed on the Sanofi Genzyme’s Northborough Global Operations Center in a joint venture with Camber Development.
Officials at Wheelock Street Capital, LLC, could not be reached for comment about the purchase.
Construction start date to be determined
Although Long said the new owners intend to execute the pre-approved plans, the contractor for the project and exact start date for construction remains unknown.
"I don't know who the contractor will be, because LLC financial corporations do things differently, so I have no idea how it's going to play out," the city councilor said. "I do know that the plan is to use the existing decision and the existing architectural drawings and plans that we already put together."
Redevelopment also can’t begin until changes to the abutting intersection are complete, so construction timelines will depend on "when they get done doing the roadwork,” Long said.
Earlier this year, the city received a $3.4 million Massworks Infrastructure Program grant for the long-awaited overhaul to the junction of Water Street and Edgell and Edmands roads.
During the revamping of the intersection — plans include widening it, adding lighting, bus shelters and ADA compliant sidewalks — some of the detours needed for the work run through the plaza. Work on the intersection is expected to wrap up by fall 2022.
Lillian Eden can be reached at 617-459-6409 or leden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LillianWEden.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham shopping plaza to be developed as apartments, retail stores
