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Boston developer plans massive film studio complex on Braintree-Weymouth line – The Boston Globe

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Boston developer plans massive film studio complex on Braintree-Weymouth line – The Boston Globe


Boston-based developer RISE is hoping to raise the curtains on a massive movie studio complex in Braintree, with a deal in place to buy a 110-plus-acre industrial parcel that’s less than 20 miles from downtown Boston.

RISE said it has reached a purchase and sale agreement with landowner Onshore Properties to acquire the property, which is known as Banner Park. Onshore has spent much of the past two years lining up permits to put up two industrial buildings, together totaling 272,500 square feet, on the site. Those permits will allow for sound-stages and other film production uses. Banner Park, off Columbian Street next to the former Massachusetts Lottery headquarters, is currently home to a 20,000 square foot office building that would be demolished.

“Being born and raised in the great town of Braintree makes this development extra special to me,” RISE executive vice president Anthony Aiello said in a statement. “Not only will this project generate significant tax revenue for Braintree, and support local restaurants, hotels and other business, but it will also create good paying jobs … during construction and permanent jobs when complete.”

The two buildings, RISE said, would feature seven sound stages, pre- and post-production facilities, and offices to support major TV and film shoots. Plans also call for public walking trails that would be created with New England Wildlife Centers, another next door neighbor. RISE said the project could generate $8 million in property taxes and $1.5 million in permit fees for Braintree over a 10-year period.

“The property benefits from unmatched in-place infrastructure and [this] effort will drive economic development to the South Shore,” Chris Reale of Onshore Properties said in an email. “We are excited for RISE and I could not think of a better group to execute on their vision for a major production campus.”

Real estate firm Colliers represented Onshore in the deal. Colliers senior vice presidents Caleb Hudak and PJ Foster said that designing the buildings to “Good Manufacturing Practice” standards will enable flexibility for the site’s owners, enabling them could to something other than movie studios if necessary. These kinds of buildings, Foster added, hold their value over time as users’ demands change.

The deal between RISE and Onshore is just the latest example of local investment in the film production industry in the wake of the state Legislature’s decision in 2021 to make permanent a generous film tax credits program. Marina Studios founder Marina Cappi remade a former sports facility in nearby Quincy into a soundstage in 2021, and developed a movie studio the following year in Canton.

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However, RISE’s move also comes amid massive curtailments in spending among big video streaming companies such as Netflix, Walt Disney Co., and Paramount, as well as a temporary lull in the action brought about by a Hollywood writers’ strike.

New England Studios, which has four soundstages in Devens, has been relatively quiet this year after doing breakneck business for most of the past seven years. General manager Gary Crossen said two indie projects are using the facility now but it does not have a deal yet for a major studio production this year — after being nearly fully booked for the prior six years with the exception of COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020.

Crossen said he’s optimistic that activity at New England Studios will return to the pace he saw a year ago, but he doesn’t know when that will happen.

“There’s a huge shakeout in the industry with every major production company announcing layoffs and major budget cuts,” Crossen said. “The business is real quiet right now, from coast to coast.”


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Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.





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Boston, MA

Fire at VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain damages MRI wing

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Fire at VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain damages MRI wing


Fire at VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain damages MRI wing – CBS Boston

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Hospital workers had to scramble to shut off MRI equipment to avoid significant damage.

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Single-family home cost in Massachusetts hits new heights

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Single-family home cost in Massachusetts hits new heights


As the mercury rises, so do home prices.

A harbinger of that is the report today by The Warren Group, which shows the cost of a single-family home climbed 10% in February in the Bay State, with a new median price of $548,250.

“February was another record-setting month for median single-family home prices as sales activity
was flat on a year-over-year basis,” said Cassidy Norton of The Warren Group. “A lack of inventory is the biggest factor driving these trends, and with fewer and fewer homes hitting the market, we can fully expect to see more recording-setting prices paired with a low sales volume in the coming months.”

The report lists 2,042 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts during February. That’s flat year-over-year — or up 0.1% with 4,434 home sold in 2023 vs 4,438 this past February, the report states.

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The median condo price increased 6.5% on a year-over-year basis to $490,000.

Condo sales also increased 5.8% when compared to last February, with 1,017 sales vs 1,076 closings this winter, the report adds.

“Although condo sales increased 5.8% in February on a year-over-year basis, activity is still
nowhere near what we saw even two or three years ago,” Norton said. “Record high prices and
high-interest rates are likely a big factor in the long-term decline in activity, and prospective
buyers shouldn’t expect much relief in the near future.”

The Fed is meeting this week, and all eyes are on the benchmark interest rate but don’t bet on any immediate relief.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his fellow Fed officials are expected to play it safe and keep rates frozen, according to multiple reports.

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The Fed’s benchmark rate stands at about 5.4%, the highest level in 23 years, after a series of 11 rate hikes that were intended to curb the worst inflation in four decades but have also made borrowing much more expensive for consumers and businesses, the Associated Press reports.

Mortgage rates are hovering near 7.2% for a 30-year fixed rate, with other similar rates being promoted for slightly less. “Upper” 6% rates are also in play as of Monday, with Business Insider stating “hotter-than-expected economic data has helped push them back up.”

As for Greater Boston, the housing picture is even more costly.

The Warren Group report states the median price of a single-family home has soared 11.9% year-over-year in February from $620,000 to $693,750. That’s for the 139 towns located within Interstate 495. Condo prices are also up 5.7%.

There’s not much movement in Boston, where single-family home sales — though very rare — climb past $1 million, statistics show. The same holds true for Cambridge, Arlington, Dover, Belmont, Brookline, Concord, Edgartown, Hingham, Lexington, Lincoln, Needham, Wellesley, Weston, and Westwood.

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Roslindale’s Caitrin Lonergan acquired by PWHL Boston in three-player trade with Ottawa – The Boston Globe

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Roslindale’s Caitrin Lonergan acquired by PWHL Boston in three-player trade with Ottawa – The Boston Globe


The PWHL trade deadline came and went Monday, bringing about two last-day swaps. One brought Roslindale’s Caitrin Lonergan back home to Boston.

Boston acquired the rights to forwards Lonergan, who spent three seasons at Boston College from 2016-19, and Lexie Adzija from Ottawa for forward Shiann Darkangelo. The 26-year-old Lonergan was twice a finalist for the Patty Kazmeier Award, given annually to the best women’s college player, and played for both Clarkson and the PHF’s Connecticut Whale after departing BC.

Lonergan was taken in the 14th round of this year’s PWHL Draft by Ottawa, but did not sign.

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“So excited for the opportunity,” she wrote on social media Monday.

Adzija, 23, played five seasons at Quinnipiac from 2018-23, finishing as team captain. Taken in the 11th round of the draft, she had single points in six of her first seven PWHL games, with 5-3—8 totals 17 games into the season. Despite the cool-off, those eight points would tie for fourth on Boston, whose 35 goals through 17 games are worst in the league.

Darkangelo, 30, had one assist in 17 games with Boston. She was captain of the PHF’s Toronto Six last season, when it won the final Isobel Cup championship in league history.





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