Saxon Partners’ heavily-amenitized Marek development is aimed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employees. Image courtesy of Saxon Partners
A big, new multifamily development near Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has been financed by a Massachusetts bank and is expected to begin construction soon.
Brookline Bank, a $4.5 billion-asset community bank based in an inner suburb of Boston, provided $79.7 million in construction financing along with Maine-based Bar Harbor Bank & Trust and fellow Massachusetts lender Cambridge Trust Co. to develop The Marek apartments. The project’s developers are Saxon Partners, based in a Boston suburb, and its joint venture teammate, Boston-based Tritower Financial Group.
“We are very excited to work again with the Saxon team, particularly on this first project in their new development program,” Marcelo Dutra, vice president of commercial real estate banking for Brookline Bank, said in a statement. “Our tailored financing package met the unique needs of Saxon and our swift and steady execution could not have been done without the support of our friends, Pete Brockelman at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust and Adam Johnston at Cambridge Trust.”
According to an announcement from commercial brokerage Colliers, which advised the joint venture in its search for financing, the package includes both joint venture equity and a senior secured construction loan.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2023, Colliers said.
The Marek’s buildings will bring 250 apartments to 343 Mount Support Road, across the street from the Timberwood Commons apartment development and roughly a mile from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
The amenity-rich building hopes to attract tenants with a combination of stainless-steel appliances, keyless entry, custom closets, in-unit washers and dryers and 9-foot ceilings.
Outside the units, residents will be able to enjoy: an outdoor terrace with hot tubs, fireplaces and grilling pavilions; a second story Skydeck with bar and entertainment areas; a fitness center with yoga studio; resident lounge areas; co-working spaces; a dog park and dog wash; bike storage; and a network of trails on adjacent open space.
The developers – Saxon is an experienced multifamily developer with national reach and Tritower bills itself as “a private real estate investment and management firm that sources, sponsors and operates single-asset real estate investments in major knowledge markets including Boston, Washington, DC, Denver and San Diego” – say they’ve aimed the building at Dartmouth-Hitchcock workers.
The new housing joins several other projects proposed along Mount Support Road that could add nearly 1,000 or more apartments and condominiums to meet the region’s growing needs. Among those are a 300-bed development for graduate students sponsored by Dartmouth College and several other rental projects.
Other parts of Lebanon have also attracted developers, like local property management firm Ledgeworks’ proposed 152-unit project and Delaware firm LWM Residential’s 196-unit project in the city’s downtown. Local officials are also considering zoning changes that could lead to more housing production.
Housing costs have been a thorn in the side for many New Hampshire employers, but are being keenly felt at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and others in the Upper Valley. The hospital said last fall that it was struggling to fill vacancies after some hires discovered they weren’t able to afford to move to the area.
