Here is the latest installment of Bates By the Numbers, a weekly feature by broker David Bates that drills down into the Hub's housing market to uncover those trends you would not otherwise see. As part of Renters Week 2012, David breaks down the biggest apartment landlords in seven major neighborhoods. (Last week, he classified several of the Hub's condo markets.)
The holdings of a multifamily owner can be about as obscure as a partnership inside an LLC, wrapped in a trust... on top of a taco. LOL. Nonetheless, using the ZIP code as the key neighborhood determinant, I did my best to pull back the veil of multifamily ownership in several Greater Boston communities to determine the size of the multifamily market and some of the largest landlords in these neighborhoods.
Beacon Hill (ZIP 02114): 283 multifamilies
Equity Residential bought Emerson Place Apartments (480 units) in 1998 for $72 million; they also bought Charles River Park Apartments (710 units) in 1999 as part of a $241 million deal. Bobson Realty has 15 properties in the neighborhood that are categorized as having nine-plus units each, a total which accounts for more than 5 percent of all Beacon Hill multifamilies.
Back Bay (ZIP 02116): 495 multifamilies
Avalon Communities purchased 781 units at the Prudential Center Apartments and is constructing 187 units on Exeter. Glynn Realty gets the tax bill for 12 buildings in Back Bay, eight of which are on Beacon Street. UDR owns Garrison Square, 160 units between Back Bay proper and the South End.
The Fenway (ZIP 02215): 182 multifamilies
The Copley Group, founded by Norman Levenson, has 28 buildings and 800 apartments in West Fenway. Boston University has 50 apartment buildings in the Fenway, including 18 on Beacon Street and 15 on Bay State Road. Samuels & Associates hit home runs with hundreds of units near Fenway Park at Trilogy and 1330 Boylston Street. Now, they are developing 1325 Boylston.
Symphony and Swath of Back Bay (ZIP 02115): 363 multifamilies
The Abbey Group, a company which is the co-owner and managing partner of the 2008 World Champion Celtics, has 46 buildings on St. Germain Street. Charles White Management has 20 buildings (each with nine-plus units), 16 on one block of the even side of Commonwealth Ave., right before Mass Ave. William Lima has 14 buildings, almost all on St. Botolph? The Sanieoffs have at least six buildings under different LLCs, such as Unique Realty. Church RT has 16 buildings on Clearway next to the Mother Church of the Christian Science Church.
Allston (ZIP 02134): 1,094 multifamilies
Mount Vernon Company is behind "the Green District." They are putting up three new buildings and renovating three old ones—a total of 500 apartments. The Samia Companies list 28 Massachusetts communities in which they have apartments and Allston public records shows Samia with 37 properties, 25 of which are categorized as having nine-plus units each. The Hamilton Company, which was founded in 1954 and owned by Boston real estate legend Harold Brown, owns 22 properties in Allston, the great majority of them on Commonwelath Ave. and with nine-plus units each.
Brighton (ZIP 02135): 2,877 multifamilies
Out of 169 Brighton multifamilies with nine units or more, the Fineberg Companies own at least 12 and at least 475 Brighton apartments. Mount Vernon Company has seven Brighton door fronts (each with nine-plus). The Samia Companies have nine (nine-plus ones) and different members of the Zoffreo family control more than 50 apartment buildings, though only five have at least nine units.
Brookline: 1,771 multifamilies
Chestnut Hill Management owns Hancock Village, a complex which has 530 units and 50 acres in Brookline. They are trying to add 270 additional apartments to the property. More recently, they purchased the last Longwood Tower, 87 units for $18 million. They also have properties in Coolidge Corner on Auburn, Harris, Beacon, Green, Harvard Ave. and St. Paul. The Hamilton Company owns buildings on seven different Coolidge Corner streets and purchased Dexter Park, which has 409 units. Nordbloom Management has several big buildings in Brookline and recently bought 136 units at The Sovereign at 1440 Beacon Street.
· Allston's Green District to Run Partly on Shame [Curbed Boston]
· Our Bates By the Numbers archive [Curbed Boston]
· Our Renters Week 2012 archive [Curbed Boston]
(Source: Analysis of MLSPIN Public Records :"Multifamily")
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