Thru the Lens: Federal Realty Investment Trust increases sustainability efforts with beekeeping partnership

Somerville, MA Federal Realty Investment Trust is joining with The Best Bees Company’s network of client partners committed to making a positive impact on local bee health and advancing global pollinator research. At the outset, three FRT properties – Assembly Row in Somerville; Linden Sq. in Wellesley, Mass. and Fresh Meadows in Queens, N.Y. are hosting the colonies of Italian honeybees, which can travel anywhere between 3-5 miles from their beehives to forage. The bees are vegan, and subsist on a strict diet of nectar and pollen. Each property has a hospitality partner that will incorporate the hyper-local honey into menus and special offerings.

• Assembly Row: The two bee hives are located in a protected alcove off of the 2^nd floor “green” rooftop well at the Row Hotel at Assembly Row

• Linden Sq.: In Wellesley, the honey will be incorporated into the menus at local restaurants. 

• Fresh Meadows: Partner Blaze Pizza will create a special item with the honey

“The addition of the bees to our properties helps show our connection to the community and our support of our partner The Best Bees Company’s commitment to saving the bee population,” said Matt Ehrie, vice president of asset management for Federal Realty. “We are excited to see how the harvested honey can be incorporated into a variety of products and menus.”

There are a number of environmental benefits to this partnership, including defending against the continuing loss of habitat, and improving pollinator health by using our beehives as a data point. By hosting the colonies, and using the honey in local products, FRT is demonstrating the company’s commitment to the environment while offering something new and unique for our shoppers. Otherwise unused rooftop and ancillary spaces are now activated and being put to good use.

Fun Bee Facts

• Queen Bees can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day.

• Stingless honey bees have larger bodies and big complex eyes to help them spot queens in midair.

• Our beehives will grow vertically – adding boxes known as supers on top of the brood box to accommodate their needs.

• One individual honey bee is not capable of cooling down the inside of the beehive, but 10,000 honey bees working together can.

"We’re thrilled to partner with Federal Realty to service beehives on multiple properties across their portfolio. They realized they had untapped space on their rooftops that could be used to benefit the local environment and creatively engage with shoppers,” says Noah Wilson-Rich, Co-founder, Chief Scientific Officer, The Best Bees Company.