Tag: biomed realty

Lisa Hamilton Featured in NEREJ’s 2025 Year in Review Issue

Lisa Hamilton is featured in the New England Real Estate Journal’s 2025 Year in Review issue, where she reflects on a meaningful year for both the firm and the New England commercial real estate market. As Northstar celebrated its 15th anniversary, Lisa shares perspectives on the projects that helped define 2025, the firm’s continued focus on delivering exceptional client service, and how office and life science strategies are evolving.

She also looks ahead to 2026, offering insight into the trends shaping advisory-led investment and development decisions across Greater Boston and the region.

Looking back at 2025, what deal, project, or key moment best reflected the direction of the New England CRE market this year?

With return-to-work initiatives continuing, I was thrilled to support Clarion Partners with repositioning its office/lab building at 245 First Street. Tenants have an abundance of real estate options, and landlords are increasingly required to take a forward-thinking approach to offering more than just an office. Through the development of high, medium, and low-intervention designs, Northstar produced budgets and schedules that enabled Clarion to make an informed decision. The resulting project will deliver amenity enhancements, system upgrades, and a dramatic transformation of the entry experience.

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Leading with Vision: Celebrating Kirstin Brown’s Recognition as a Top Woman in Commercial Real Estate

We are proud to celebrate Kirstin Brown, who has been honored by Connect CRE as one of the Top Women in Commercial Real Estate this year. Her recent appointment as President in 2024 not only highlights her significant contributions to Northstar’s long-term strategy but also reflects her unwavering dedication to the people she works with, both clients and team members.

A Vision Built on Relationships

With over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry and an impressive portfolio exceeding $2 billion in complex developments, Kirstin has helped shape some of the region’s most transformative projects, from MIT’s 675-bed graduate housing complex to Northeastern University’s 23-story mixed-use tower at 840 Columbus Avenue, and BioMed Realty’s multi-phase Assembly Innovation Park in Somerville.

At her core, Kirstin is a “project junkie” who believes that real estate is fundamentally about people. This mindset shapes everything she does at Northstar. She loves the work she does, and every project has at least two people on it, and one of them is always a principal or shareholder, ensuring senior-level oversight on every project.

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Northstar Celebrates 15 Years of Growth, Vision, and Exceptional Service

Today, Northstar celebrates a significant milestone, 15 years since its founding on October 28, 2010. This marks a proud chapter in the company’s continued journey of delivering trusted project management services, building lasting client relationships, and cultivating a standout company culture.

Northstar was established because its founders believed the Greater Boston market needed something different: a high-touch, client-focused consulting firm built on trust, collaboration, and results. With that mission and an entrepreneurial spirit, the firm quickly secured its first client, Harvard Real Estate Services. Their vision has grown into something bigger than they could have imagined, forging a new path in owner’s project management

What began as a small, dedicated team in Cambridge has grown into a dynamic, industry-recognized company known for its expertise, culture, and commitment to excellence.

“Our goal from day one was to do things differently, putting clients first, delivering exceptional service, and creating a place where people genuinely want to work,” said co-founder Tom Fanning. “Fifteen years later, that mission still drives us.”

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Building Success Together: The Power of Collaboration at Northstar

After the inspiring reflections from Northstar’s women during our annual Women in Construction Week celebration, we turned our attention to recognizing the invaluable contributions of the men on our team.

We asked them to share moments when collaboration across diverse teams, including women and beyond, led to a breakthrough in solving a project challenge. Their responses highlight not only their technical expertise but also their commitment to fostering teamwork, mentorship, and innovative problem-solving.

Join us as we explore their experiences and the impact of diverse collaboration in driving project success.

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Northstar Celebrates a Decade of Excellence: Honoring Andy Touchette’s 10th Anniversary

Northstar proudly celebrates Andy Touchette’s 10th anniversary.

Since joining Northstar, Andy has become a key part of what makes Northstar special, bringing together his impressive skills and dedication in a way that truly stands out.

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Denise Pied Featured in NEREJ’s Women in Commercial Real Estate Spotlight

Northstar’s Denise Pied was recently featured in the New England Real Estate Journal’s Women of CRE  issue. 

Below is an excerpt from what she said about the project and accomplishment she is most proud of and what advice she would give young women aspiring to enter commercial real estate.   

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A Conversation with our Intern, Pratiksha Gade: Her View from the Construction Site

Northstar is committed to mentoring and nurturing the next generation of talent with a passion for pursuing careers in project management. As part of our internship/co-op program, we collaborate with institutions such as Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and CREST (Commercial Real Estate Success Training) to identify exceptional candidates.

We had the pleasure of welcoming Pratiksha Gade to our team for the past six months. Pratiksha recently graduated from Northeastern University with a Master’s degree in Project Management, specializing in Construction Management. During her time with us, she supported pre-construction market readiness assessments, punch list administration, and document management activities for life science projects with BioMed Realty, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical, as well as Harvard University Housing’s portfolio. She was actively involved in the development of Assembly Innovation Park, attending weekly OAC and coordination meetings with the team, assisting with schedule reviews, and reviewing garage wayfinding installations and closeout documentation.

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Kirstin Brown Among Recipients of CoreNet Global New England’s 2023 Awards of Excellence

We are excited to announce that Kirstin Brown received the Americas Service Provider Leadership Award at CoreNet Global – New England Chapter’s annual awards celebration.

The Service Provider Leadership Award recognizes a member of North America CoreNet Global NE who contributes significantly to the success of the corporate real estate industry, their department, team, client’s company, or real estate organization. Kirstin exemplifies this through her exceptional commitment to excellence and leadership.

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Northstar Announces Executive Leadership Change – Kirstin Brown Named New President

Tom Fanning will continue to provide leadership and guidance to the management team and work full time servicing his clients

Northstar, a real estate services firm providing project management and development management services, announced a strategic leadership transition. Tom Fanning, a co-founder and President of Northstar since its establishment in 2010, is stepping down from his role as President. In alignment with the company’s succession plan, Tom will transition into a pivotal role, providing leadership and guidance to the management team and working with clients on ongoing and future projects.  

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Northstar Reflects on a Great 2023: A Year in Pictures 

As we usher in the new year, Northstar is thrilled to share a glimpse into the journey our team had in 2023.
 

From memorable team moments – skiing, rowing on the Charles, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, celebrating our 13th year in business, to groundbreaking client achievements – topping off at Assembly Innovation Park and 599 Somerville, breaking ground at Werfen’s Bedford campus and celebrating the installation of 3,260 locks that were replaced for Harvard University Housing over seven years, our video encapsulates the essence of our collective efforts, fun, and shared success. Each picture tells a unique story of dedication, hard work, and the strides we’ve made together as a team.

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A conversation with our Intern, Gene Mongan: His View from the Construction Site

Northstar is committed to mentoring and nurturing the next generation of talent with a passion for pursuing careers in project management. As part of our internship/co-op program, we collaborate with institutions such as Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and CREST (Commercial Real Estate Success Training) to identify exceptional candidates.

We had the pleasure of introducing Gene Mongan to our team for the past six months. Gene joined us from Northeastern University, where he recently graduated with a degree in Architecture with a minor in Business Administration. Gene began his graduate degree studies in Architecture this fall. We took the opportunity to sit down with Gene to gain insights into his experience as a part of our Northstar team throughout his internship.

 

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A conversation with our CREST Intern, Olivia Pedro: Her View from the Construction Site

Northstar is committed to mentoring and nurturing the next generation of talent with a passion for pursuing careers in project management. As part of our internship/co-op program, we collaborate with institutions such as Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and CREST (Commercial Real Estate Success Training) to identify exceptional candidates.

During the summer, we had the pleasure of introducing Olivia Pedro to our team. Currently in her senior year and pursuing a major in management at Bentley University, Olivia joined Northstar through the CREST program. We took the opportunity to sit down with Olivia and gain insights into her experience as a part of our Northstar team throughout the summer.

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How I Became an Owner’s Project Manager and What I Love About it

Northstar is celebrating our talented female leaders during Women in Construction Week (WIC). This year’s theme is ‘Many Paths, One Mission,’ which celebrates the many paths women have taken to work in the construction industry.

We talked with three women at various stages of their career about how they arrived at being an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) and what they love about it.

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The Women of Northstar

The women of Northstar play a critical role in our firm, representing close to 40% of the firm in every level of project management overseeing more than $3.0B of construction.

Their diverse backgrounds enable them to drive growth in the industry and within our company by bringing unique strengths and skills to solve problems and develop solutions in the project management role. 

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Kirstin Brown Named an Outstanding Woman of Commercial Real Estate

Northstar is pleased to announce that Kirstin Brown has been named one of Boston Real Estate Times’ Outstanding Women of Commercial Real Estate 2023.

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Northstar Honors Our Tom Grady and Dan Landry on Veteran’s Day

Veteran’s Day dates to 1919 and is dedicated to honoring our nation’s military veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. We thank our veterans, past and present, and their families for the service and sacrifice they make every day. We are indebted to you for all you have given to our great country.

We want to also thank and recognize two Northstar employees, Tom Grady and Dan Landry, veterans of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, respectively.

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