By Grant Welker - A 248-unit residential development is being proposed for a Kappy's Fine Wines & Spirits site in Medford’s Wellington neighborhood.
The proposal by Transom Real Estate calls for a seven-story building a few blocks from the MBTA Orange Line’s Wellington station, which is also a major bus hub for cities just north of Boston.
The development would replace Kappy’s as well as a Munro Service and Tire Centers next door on Revere Beach Parkway, just next to Wellington Circle. The Wellington area is also part of Medford’s newly-rezoned district allowing for denser residential construction as part of the state’s MBTA Communities law.
“It’s a perfect example of it,” Bryan Lee, a Transom co-founder, said of the zoning law. “It’s right across from the T and transit-oriented.”
Transom now has two Medford projects lined up.
The first is a mixed-use proposal for Medford Square, which would include 283 apartments, a grocery store and a cafe. Transom was chosen in a public request for proposals for the city-owned site. Construction is slated to start in the second half of next year and be completed by the third quarter of 2028.
Transom’s newest proposal calls for a seven-story building with 255 parking spaces. The proposal, for which the firm filed a permitting application on Tuesday, doesn’t yet have a timeline for construction.
Boston-based Transom has raised its first fundraising to support both developments, Lee said. The $22 million it brought in, he said, is enough in a developer’s portion of project financing to equate to roughly $750 million in construction and related costs.
Transom has off-market purchases under contract for the Wellington site, Lee said. Kappy’s, which has 11 total locations across the Boston area, declined to comment for this story, a manager said. A tattoo shop on the corner of the site will remain. The Kappy's building dates to 1965.
The Kappy's site changed hands in January, now in the hands of an entity registered to the owners of Kappy's and Main Street Wine Imports of Everett. Scott Moore, a Main Street Wine Imports co-owner, declined to comment.
Transom has also recently completed a 158-unit development with retail space in Framingham called Nobscot Village, which opened last year. Its projects have also included 212 Stuart in Boston’s Bay Village, Zero Athens in South Boston, and a new 47-unit development in Roxbury.