The Woburn developer exits a 95-unit project approved under Boston's conversion incentive program.
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Overview
Updated 1 hour agoA Woburn developer sold a downtown Boston office building approved for conversion into 95 apartments for $8.6 million, or about $90,500 per approved home. KS Partners won the conversion approval in April 2025, then sold the site rather than build it.
Boston's conversion program gives developers up to 75 percent off property taxes for 29 years, plus state grants. The sale shows how hard it remains to turn vacant offices into housing even with those incentives.
Why it matters
Boston expects office conversions to create 1,700 downtown homes; each developer that sells an approved site instead of building delays that housing.
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People Involved
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Woburn-based real estate firm pursuing two downtown Boston office conversions.
Boston's planning and development agency that reviews and approves downtown conversion projects.
Boston developer converting 31 Milk Street into 110 apartments.
Timeline
June 2019 September 2026
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KS Partners sells approved conversion site
Today SaleKS Partners sold the approved 95-unit conversion site for $8.6 million instead of building it.
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State awards $3.4 million for Court Square
FundingMassachusetts awarded KS Partners $3.4 million of a $7 million grant round for downtown conversions.
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Court Square conversion application filed
RegulatoryKS Partners filed plans to convert 15 Court Square into 80 apartments under the city's incentive program.
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95-unit Devonshire conversion approved
RegulatoryBoston Planning Department approved KS Partners' plan for 85 Devonshire and 258-262 Washington streets.
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Court Square loan enters special servicing
FinancialThe loan on 15 Court Square matured with a $25 million balance and was placed into special servicing.
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KS Partners buys 15 Court Square
AcquisitionKS Partners paid $29 million for the 11-story office building, then 98 percent leased.
Historical Context
2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Lower Manhattan conversion push (2001-2005)
After the September 11 attacks drove companies out of Lower Manhattan, office vacancy passed 20 percent. The city and federal government channeled Liberty Bond subsidies and tax breaks into residential conversions, turning empty towers into apartments.
Thousands of apartments emerged from converted offices, reviving the Financial District as a 24/7 neighborhood.
The district's residential base cushioned it when office demand fell again.
Public subsidies large enough to close the gap between conversion costs and apartment rents made Lower Manhattan work. Boston's smaller incentives are testing the same math.
Chicago LaSalle Street conversions (2020s)
Chicago's city government offered property tax incentives to convert aging LaSalle Street offices into housing. The program aimed to create thousands of units in buildings emptied by remote work.
Fewer conversions reached construction than proposed, as high interest rates pushed financing costs above projected apartment rents.
The program became a catalog of obstacles for office conversions in expensive office markets.
Chicago's experience foreshadows Boston's: approvals run ahead of construction because the financials rarely close.
