ASB Buys Sustainable Apartments in Boston
ASB Real Estate Investments has acquired the Element, a recently constructed 100-unit apartment building that’s part of the Green District, a sustainable residential community in Boston’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Boston—ASB Real Estate Investments has acquired the Element, a recently constructed 100-unit apartment building that’s part of the Green District, a sustainable residential community in Boston’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood. A LEED Gold building, the Element was completed in 2012 and is 99 percent leased.
Sustainable features include Hubway bicycle, Zipcar and electric car charging stations, floor-to-ceiling fiberglass windows and high-efficiency utility meters and appliances. Common amenities include a fitness center, granite and stainless steel kitchen finishes and a furnished roof deck.
Near the Charles River and just off Commonwealth Ave., the Green District is walkable and close to public transportation, namely the MBTA T-line service. Allston-Brighton’s Walk Score is 92 out of 100 (“Walker’s paradise”), according to the organization of the same name, and its Transit Score is 84 out of 100.
Separately, ASB also has agreed to buy two other recently completed multifamily residences—the Edge and the Eco—comprising 183 additional apartment units within the Green District. The Edge (LEED Platinum, completed last year) and the Eco (LEED Platinum expected, completed last month) are 100 percent and 96 percent leased, respectively. That transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2015.
ASB made the acquisitions on behalf of its Allegiance Fund, a $3.5 billion core real estate investment vehicle, in a joint venture with National Development. The seller was Mount Vernon Co., a local multifamily operator that developed the project over the past three years as part of former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s initiative to transform the neighborhood into a sustainable residential area.