Deer Street – Stone Ridge Center
Milford, MA | 625,000 SF

Value Creation Through Strategic Repositioning for Multifamily

Recognizing the value of large tracts of developable land near the I-90 and I-495 corridors, The Gutierrez Company assembled the subject 80-acre parcel through a series of off market transactions. Permitting and entitling the site entailed a highly intricate process working with more than a dozen local, state, and federal agencies, and a tribal nation. The site entailed extensive infrastructure improvements for a sewer line within a state roadway, and for the construction of a bridge crossing over a tributary of the Charles River. However, the original investment thesis for the proposed four-building 625,000 square feet office campus, was dislocated by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

With all office permits in hand, but a weak suburban office market, we re-envisioned the site as a mixed-use development. Working collaboratively with all stakeholders including the town, we re-entitled the site and obtained a rezoning to allow commercial uses. We also obtained approval for two new luxury multi-family housing projects comprising 500 units permitted under the state’s Chapter 40B affordable housing program.

We de-risked the development by selling one of the newly entitled pad sites to a national commercial wholesaler who has been operating successfully at the site, and subsequently sold the first phase of the residential site to a national multifamily apartment developer. Leveraging our relationship, the same developer also placed the second phase under contract shortly after completing construction of phase I. Notwithstanding the duration of the project, the transaction has yielded double digit returns and we intend to develop the remaining parcel for a use that will enhance the overall value of the community.