A century-old multifamily portfolio in Somerville has traded hands, setting a pricing marker for the Davis Square rental market. Matthews represented the seller in the disposition of the Kingsley Orchard Realty Portfolio, a three-asset collection located at 18 Day St., 49 Dover St. and 123 Orchard St. in Somerville, MA. The properties, situated within one block of each other in the Davis Square neighborhood, changed hands in a $39,000,000 transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
The portfolio totals 120 apartments across three brick buildings that have been under continuous family control for more than 100 years. Kingsley Orchard Realty Limited Partnership originally developed the assets and held them for over a century before opting to bring the properties to market for the first time. The sale marks the largest multifamily portfolio transaction in the Davis Square submarket in the past 15 years, according to information provided with the deal announcement.
Matthews served as exclusive sales broker on the transaction, with vice president Nick Jasinski leading the assignment. The brokerage represented the seller and oversaw the marketing and execution process. Jasinski noted that opportunities of this size and vintage, with such an extended track record of family ownership, are increasingly uncommon in Greater Boston. Against that backdrop, the team focused on driving broad investor interest and competitive bidding while preserving the seller’s timetable for closing.
The three-building portfolio’s concentration within a small geographic footprint in Davis Square underscores investor attention on clustered, infill multifamily assets in established urban neighborhoods. With 120 units spanning contiguous addresses, the portfolio offers scale in a location that has seen limited large-portfolio trades over the last decade and a half. While specific business plans and buyer identity were not made public, the sale price establishes a reference point for future multifamily portfolio pricing in the immediate area.
The Kingsley Orchard Realty Portfolio disposition also illustrates how long-held family assets in mature Northeast markets are selectively coming to market. By engaging Matthews to manage the sale and competitive process, Kingsley Orchard Realty Limited Partnership sought to translate multi-generational ownership into a modern capital event. The execution, highlighted by its 15-year benchmark status for Davis Square multifamily, may inform how other legacy owners in Greater Boston evaluate timing and strategy for potential dispositions.
