Developers focused on upscale properties, but also considered local regulations and incentives regarding the need for affordable units. Yardi Matrix rounded up the 10 largest deliveries in 2017’s Boston.

Strong economic and demographic expansion is fueling Boston’s development boom, and construction activity hasn’t shown signs of slowing down in 2017. As developers primarily focus on high-end properties, companies strive to include affordable units into their projects due to local regulations and incentives. Yardi Matrix has compiled a list of the top 10 residential developments delivered in 2017—eight of which are partially affordable—pointing toward a successful implementation of the above-mentioned direction.

9. THE MERC AT MOODY & MAIN

Named after the historic mercantile property that stood on the same corner in Waltham, Mass., The Merc encompasses three five-story buildings and a total of 269 apartments. The team of Northland Investment Corp., Erland Construction and Stantec completed the community in April 2017, with a focus on similar masonry details and large windows featured in the original structure’s facade. Situated at 45 Moody St., The Merc includes 27 affordable units, a two-story parking garage, a wellness/fitness center and a sky deck.

To view the full article, visit https://www.multihousingnews.com/post/top-10-boston-completions-of-2017/

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The Merc at Moody & Main has an urban feel thanks to its location in downtown Waltham, but rents are about 25 percent less than new buildings in Boston and Cambridge.

“We get a lot of people who started looking in the city for apartments, but find that rents out here are lower,” said Stephanie Cabral, the Merc’s community manager. “Rents at The Merc run around $300 cheaper than comparable new buildings in Cambridge and $500 in Boston.”

Cabral says many residents relocated here from out of state and work in tech and biotech firms along nearby Route 128. She says most are young professionals, but there are also some empty nesters. The 269-unit, three building, five-story apartment complex — named after the former Mercantile building on the 41?2-acre block — recently finished its third phase, which includes a ground floor filled with common amenity spaces.

There’s a wood-floored resident lounge with seating and a gas fireplace, a billiards room and a clubroom with a catering kitchen featuring a large quartz center island and stainless steel appliances. Adjacent sits a resident library and business conference center. There’s also a large fitness facility/yoga studio that overlooks Waltham Common across the street. A dog washing station has a large shower stall.

By the spring, a fifth-story skydeck with Boston views will have an outdoor fireplace and grill areas.

Rents include one free parking space in the complex’s 300-car underground garage. Second garage spaces are $175 a month. Pet rent runs $50 a month per dog or cat.

The Merc is 63 percent leased, and the complex is offering a month’s free rent on 12-month leases signed by Jan. 1.

We toured staged model unit 220, a 750-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath renting for $2,495. The apartment has an open kitchen/dining/living area with 9-foot ceilings. The kitchen has dark vinyl plank flooring, 15 white and brown wood cabinets and quartz countertops with a mosaic tile backsplash. There’s a moveable quartz island and Whirlpool stainless steel appliances, including a refrigerator, dishwasher and electric stove.

The carpeted dining/living area has a wall of windows with a bumpout that allows views down Waltham’s Main Street.

The carpeted bedroom has a large walk-in closet with shelving — and the ceramic tile-floored bathroom has a large vanity and a white-tiled tub and shower. In one corner of the bathroom sits a full-size stacked Whirlpool washer and dryer.

“This is a true transit-oriented development with the commuter rail to Boston and buses to Cambridge right here,” says Peter Standish, senior vice president at Newton’s Northland Investment Corp., the Merc’s developer and owner. “We figured we’d get tenants looking for a more urban experience that downtown Waltham offers, including all the restaurants along Moody Street.”

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Boston Magazine
September 7, 2016
By Madeline Bilis

It’s a phrase heard over and over in real estate development: ”blending the old with the new.” In an effort to reconnect a modern building with its existing location, designers weave traces of the past into new constructions.

At the Merc at Moody and Main in Waltham, this idea is taken a step further.

“I actually purchased an old original watch from the Waltham Watch factory,” explains Charlotte Riggs, an art consultant at Boston Art.

Riggs incorporated this watch into the art adoring the walls of the condo complex, nicknamed the Merc. She was hired by the Northland Investment Corporation’s development team to select the art for one of the newest developments in Waltham, a town also known as Watch City. The art aims to represent Waltham’s industrial past.

In the 1850s, Waltham Watch Company set up shop in the town a little more than 10 miles outside of the city. According to the Waltham Museum, it manufactured the first watches with interchangeable parts, as well as the first 100-percent American-made watches. As one of the industries that powered the town, the watch business earned Waltham the nickname Watch City. This history is incorporated into different aspects of the Merc, including the art in the lobby, near its elevators, and in common areas.

It turns out that, generally, the artworks that are tacked up in lobbies of condo buildings aren’t any old watercolor landscapes. Art consultants are hired to help identify what pieces will work best with a specific community.

“It’s an important part of our interior design process,” explains Peter Standish, Senior Vice President at Northland. “We view art as a way to help to distinguish our communities, to add our own personal style.”

In this case, the style harkens back to Waltham’s industrial heritage.

“It’s a way we can set ourselves apart,” says Standish.

The Merc at Moody and Main complex was named after a building that once stood at the spot, called the mercantile building (located at the intersection of Moody and Main Streets). In order to underscore the watch-filled history that was emphasized when the Merc was first planned, Riggs was brought on board by the complex’s architect, Stantec.

Riggs was briefed on the building’s various design elements: the chosen finishes, furniture, and other materials. Then she had to figure out a way to incorporate the history into the building’s clean and modern layout.

“How can we capture Waltham in these pieces of art but not make it look like a history museum?” asked Riggs.

The answer to that question resulted in pieces that use historic items and materials in the art itself. This approach is most evident in the building’s postcard wall murals by local artist Stephen Sheffield. Two large installations, one 18 feet long and one 27 feet long, consist of a collage of historic documents and photographs. Riggs aided in gathering hundreds of original old postcards from collectors online and from an antique store in Waltham. Together, Riggs and Sheffield created eight original collages, and then took high-resolution images of them to print the murals.

In another more abstract collage, Riggs included images of the the original Waltham watch she purchased, which dates back to 1899, as well as original unissued stock certificates from the Waltham Watch Company.

“One of the things that we really wanted to do on a number of the larger scale pieces was to create pieces that were layered enough so that people could come back and look at them time and time again,” explains Riggs. “To find something unique or a new way of interpreting something so it would consistently be fresh.”

By creating and displaying pieces that can be approached from multiple angles, the idea that lobby art is generic is cast aside.

“With all of these apartment buildings cropping up, it’s all about the amenities and how we can make the building the most special. Not only is it the fitness center, the cafe, and the outdoor seating, but artwork is really becoming an amenity in a lot of these buildings,” says Riggs.

“And I was so excited to work on this project that had such a history to Waltham, and to work with a group of people that really wanted to preserve that and also present it in a really unique way.”

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