DivcoWest hires Sullivan, Johnson and Roopenian to the firm’s development team for NorthPoint

Cambridge, MA DivcoWest has hired Tom Sullivan as president of the development division, Mark Johnson as director of development and Mark Roopenian as managing director to the firm’s development team for NorthPoint, the 42-acre master planned development it recently acquired in the city. NorthPoint is one of the largest remaining in-fill sites in the metro Boston area and the largest remaining undeveloped parcel in the city of Cambridge, immediately adjacent to key public transit corridors and thoroughfares. Located directly across the Charles River from downtown Boston, NorthPoint offers easy access to all parts of Boston, Somerville and Cambridge. The site is fully entitled to develop 4.5 million s/f, including 2.4 million s/f of residential and 2.1 million s/f of commercial product.

When completed, NorthPoint will feature a mix of residential, commercial office, retail, hospitality and life sciences uses surrounding a central park.

Sullivan is a former founder and co-managing partner of Wilson Meany Sullivan, a San Francisco mixed-use development firm focused on urban infill projects. Sullivan brings substantial experience to NorthPoint, having overseen millions of square feet of large-scale, technologically innovative projects across the U.S., including Stanford Research Park in Silicon Valley.

Johnson is a former vice president of Harvard’s Capital Planning and Project Management. A seasoned project manager with more than 20 years of experience in construction and architectural design, Johnson joined Harvard in 2002 and ultimately managed capital and physical planning at Harvard Law School, overseeing the construction of several major projects, including Wasserstein Hall, Caspersen Student Center and the Clinical Wing.

Roopenian is a former principal and co-head of the leasing group at Boston-based Normandy Real Estate Partners, where he was responsible for managing development and leasing activities on large-scale commercial projects in Massachusetts and California.

“We believe that NorthPoint will be a significant economic engine for creating jobs in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston,” said Stuart Shiff, CEO, DivcoWest. “Our goal for this new community is to have a significant and transformative impact on the broader Cambridge and Boston communities. We view this as a critical project, and one where we feel privileged to have the opportunity to contribute. Having said that, it is an imperative to build the right team to create and deliver the vision, and we feel that Tom, Mark and Mark add the necessary depth to our NorthPoint team to do so. Each of these professionals will bring a unique perspective, and each has already demonstrated excellent expertise in their respective fields. We are thrilled to have them as part of our team.”