Bridge buys six multifamily buildings with 1,700 units in Greater Boston area

Jonathan Slager’s Bridge Investment Group has made a major residential acquisition in the Greater Boston region.

The REIT’s Bridge Multifamily Fund Manager acquired from Harbor Group International a portfolio composed of six workforce and affordable housing properties with a total of 1,722 residential units, according to a press release.

The Massachusetts properties within the portfolio include:

• Commons at Haynes Farm in Shrewsbury.
• Middlesex Crossing in Billerica.
• Meadows at Marlborough in Marlborough.
• Heights at Marlborough in Marlborough.
• Stone Ends in Stoughton.
• Village at Marshfield in Marshfield.

“The acquisition expands our Workforce & Affordable Housing geography into another attractive major market,” Bridge Chief Investment Officer Rachel Diller said in the statement. “The portfolio consists of well-located assets within four high-barrier-to-entry counties in the Greater Boston area, offering convenient access to major transportation arteries. 

“Our commitment to preserving and rehabilitating housing for America’s workforce remains strong. We will provide social and community programming that focuses on the education, health and financial wellness of our residents. We aim to create vibrant, thriving communities that are more than just ‘four walls and a roof’ and look forward to enhancing the quality of life for our Boston-area residents.”

“The sale of the Boston portfolio exemplifies HGI’s ability to identify strategic opportunities to divest high-quality stabilized assets amid varying market conditions,” Lane Shea, managing director at HGI, said in a release.

Attempts to reach Bridge for comment were unsuccessful.

Bridge invests in multifamily communities where at least 51 percent of its units are + of our units are occupied by families earning less than 80% of the area’s median income, according to its website.

The REIT has been active in both the residential and commercial markets this year. In February, Bridge sold a senior living facility in Chicago’s western suburbs for $19 million, continuing a commercial real estate selloff of area assets by the company.

An affiliate of Chicago-based Citrine Investment Group, helmed by Lynn Jerath, picked up River Glen of St. Charles, located at 975 North Fifth Avenue in St. Charles, from the publicly traded real estate investment trust, according to Kane County public records.

Bridge purchased the property in 2016, and while a price wasn’t recorded on the deed due to the seller’s exemption from a transfer tax payment as a nonprofit, an assessor’s web page for the asset shows Bridge paid $8 million to buy it. It’s unclear if Bridge invested additional capital into upgrades at the property. 

The property features at least 78 total units that include senior care services regulated by the state, comprising 15 for people requiring memory care and 63 others for independent and assisted living arrangements, according to a state webpage.

— Ted Glanzer

Rachel Herzog contributed reporting.