What Cabot, Cabot & Forbes does

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes (CC&F) is a privately held, Boston-headquartered real estate development firm founded in 1904 — one of the oldest operating developers in the United States. Under CEO Jay Doherty, who acquired the firm from the Marshall Field family in 2004, CC&F develops commercial, multifamily, life sciences, and mixed-use properties across Greater Boston and the broader New England region, with selected historical activity in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. Since 2010, the firm has acquired, permitted, and/or built over 3.4 million square feet of commercial and multifamily real estate and 2,781 residential units in Greater Boston, overseeing more than $1.6 billion of investment. The cumulative portfolio across the firm's 121-year history exceeds 100 million square feet, including iconic Boston landmarks such as One Boston Place, 28 State Street, 100 Summer Street, and 60 State Street.

CC&F's product surface spans four asset types: (1) transit-oriented multifamily rental and for-sale condominium developments (e.g., 200 Quannapowitt — 440 units; The Overlook at St. Gabriel's — 555 units; Stratus Residences — 111 condos; Emblem 120; Atmark; Deco; Idyl); (2) build-to-suit commercial, lab, and R&D space for innovation-economy tenants historically including IBM/Lotus, Genzyme, AstraZeneca, Symantec, AMD, Raytheon BBN, CSC, and Federal Express; (3) adaptive-reuse and historic preservation projects anchored by The Overlook at St. Gabriel's (winner of Boston Preservation Alliance, MHN Gold, BD+C Reconstruction, and Preservation Massachusetts awards); and (4) advanced manufacturing and life sciences complexes led by The Bolt, a 180,000 SF transit-oriented center for innovation in Woburn's New Boston Corridor. The firm holds a unique regulatory position as the recipient of the first-ever EPA approval to redevelop a Region 1 Superfund site for residential use under CERCLA, working with Haley & Aldrich at the Industri-plex site in Woburn.

CC&F operates a capital-light, partnership-driven business model. The firm sources equity through joint ventures with institutional and alternative capital partners (Cannon Hill Capital Partners, Kawa Capital Management, Blue Vista Capital Management, American Realty Advisors, Healthpeak Properties) and, more recently, through online investment platforms such as CrowdStreet, which contributed more than $68M to the Assembly Square JV. Debt financing is arranged through groups including Centennial Commercial Finance Group, Lionheart Strategic Management, and Aries Capital. Construction is outsourced to general contractors (John Moriarty & Associates at The Bolt; Gilbane heritage among staff), and leasing/sales are conducted through channel partners (Cushman & Wakefield for life sciences tenant leasing at 216 New Boston; Advisors Living for Stratus Residences). Revenue streams include development fees, equity promotes on project sales (e.g., The Quad sold to Healthpeak Properties in October 2021), condominium unit sales (Stratus Residences aggregated ~$80M), and rental income from retained multifamily assets managed in-house. Pricing is project-specific and not publicly listed.

Name

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes

Legal name

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes

Website

https://ccfne.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes is a Boston-based real estate development firm founded in 1904 that develops transit-oriented multifamily residential, life sciences, commercial, and adaptive-reuse projects across Greater Boston for enterprise tenants, residents, and institutional investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Development: CC&F develops commercial properties including office, lab, manufacturing, and mixed-use buildings for lease or sale to corporate tenants. Revenue is generated through development fees, property sales, and long-term asset ownership.
2. Multifamily Residential Development: CC&F develops multifamily rental apartments and for-sale condominiums. Revenue comes from apartment leasing income and condominium unit sales. Projects include The Overlook at St. Gabriel's (555 units), 200 Quannapowitt (440 units), and Stratus Residences (111 condos).
3. Brownfield Development Services: CC&F specializes in developing contaminated or underutilized sites, particularly Superfund sites, into productive real estate. This creates value from challenging sites that others cannot develop.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes is a Boston-based real estate development firm that develops, leases, and sells commercial, multifamily residential, and life sciences properties throughout Greater Boston. Its portfolio includes transit-oriented multifamily rentals and condominiums, adaptive reuse historic preservation projects, advanced manufacturing and life sciences complexes, and build-to-suit commercial buildings for corporate tenants.

Product overview

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes (CC&F) is a Boston-based real estate development company founded in 1904 that develops residential apartments, condominiums, life sciences facilities, and commercial properties throughout Greater Boston. The company's portfolio includes transit-oriented multifamily developments (200 Quannapowitt, Charles River Landing, Deco), adaptive reuse historic preservation projects (The Overlook at St. Gabriel's), life sciences and advanced manufacturing complexes (The Bolt/216 New Boston), and luxury residential communities (Emblem 120, Idyl, Atmark, Stratus Condominiums). CC&F specializes in brownfield redevelopment, transit-oriented development, and historic restoration, with projects ranging from 180 to 555 residential units and 180,000 to 1.1 million SF of commercial space. The company operates as a traditional real estate developer rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Overlook at St. Gabriel's A 555-unit multifamily apartment and condominium complex in Brighton, MA featuring the historic restoration of the St. Gabriel's Monastery and Church, with resort-style amenities. Targeted at residents seeking modern housing near Boston.
• The Bolt (216 New Boston) A 181,522 SF advanced manufacturing and life sciences complex in Woburn, MA featuring up to 37-foot clear heights, 8,000 Amps of power capacity, and EV charging parking. Targeted at life sciences and advanced manufacturing tenants.
• 200 Quannapowitt (The Basin) A 440-unit multifamily residential complex in Wakefield, MA on Lake Quannapowitt, featuring a waterfront restaurant space and lakeside walking path. Targeted at residents seeking modern multifamily housing.
• Emblem 120 A 289-unit luxury multifamily housing development in Woburn, MA with 9,390 SF of commercial restaurant and retail space, walking distance from Anderson Regional Transportation Center. Targeted at luxury renters near transit.
• Zero New Boston A 250-unit transit-oriented multifamily development in Woburn, MA adjacent to Anderson Regional Transportation Center with 364 parking spaces and 1,200 SF retail. Targeted at transit-oriented renters.
• Stratus Condominiums A 111-unit luxury for-sale condominium project in Brighton, MA, part of the St. Gabriel's master-planned community. Targeted at luxury condominium buyers.
• Idyl A 365-unit Class-A multifamily rental complex in Boston's Fenway neighborhood with rooftop amenity deck, plus 75 planned condominiums at 69 Kilmarnock St. Targeted at urban professionals.
• Atmark A 428-unit luxury apartment community in Cambridge, MA serving the innovation workforce with high-end amenities and design. Targeted at innovation-economy professionals.
• Charles River Landing A 350-unit multifamily development in Needham, MA along Route 128/I-95 supporting the area's technology workforce. Targeted at technology workers needing suburban housing.
• Deco An 180-unit transit-oriented market-rate multifamily housing development in Quincy, MA across from Quincy Adams MBTA Red Line Station. Targeted at transit-oriented renters in Greater Boston.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% leased milestone achieved at The Overlook at St. Gabriel's, ahead of budget projections by 10 months
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered innovation, core, major and regulatory.

• Reframe SystemsinnovationStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Reframe Systems partnered with CC&F to deploy a 554-square-foot robotic-built modular unit as the on-site sales and leasing hub for The Bolt development. This is the first time a physical AI homebuilder has been embedded directly into a major commercial real estate development in Greater Boston. The unit will be repurposed as an accessory dwelling unit once the development reaches occupancy in Q2 2027.
• Cannon Hill Capital PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2023A joint venture between CC&F and a Cannon Hill Capital Partners fund acquired the 65-75 Mystic Ave. site in Somerville's Assembly Square for $142.5 million. The property is adjacent to the mixed-use Assembly Row development and financed through crowdfunding and loans.
• Haley & AldrichcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 18 September 2018Haley & Aldrich, an environmental and engineering consulting company, worked with CC&F and the EPA to achieve the first-ever EPA approval to redevelop a Region 1 Superfund site for residential use at the Industri-plex site in Woburn, MA.
• John Moriarty & AssociatescoreOthersJohn Moriarty & Associates is the general contractor building The Bolt project in Woburn, MA.
• PeakMade Real EstatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeakMade Real Estate partnered with CC&F and Blue Vista Capital Management on The Overlook at St. Gabriel's project. PeakMade handles leasing and management of the 555-unit residential community in Brighton, MA.
• Cushman & WakefieldcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCushman & Wakefield represents CC&F for all life sciences tenant leasing at the 216 New Boston (The Bolt) project in Woburn, MA.
• JacobsmajorTechnology or IntegrationJacobs is listed as a project partner for The Bolt development in Woburn, MA.
• Tremont Asset Management, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTremont Asset Management, LLC partnered with CC&F to create Stratus Residences, a 111-unit luxury condominium development in Brighton, MA.
• Advisors LivingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdvisors Living, the residential real estate sales platform associated with Boston Realty Advisors, handled the sale of all 111 luxury living units in Stratus Residences. Sales averaged 4-5 units per month over 23 months with aggregate sales of about $80 million.
• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)regulatoryOthersThe EPA granted CC&F the first-ever approval to redevelop a Region 1 Superfund site for residential use, setting a new standard for CERCLA residential redevelopment projects.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Davis Companies: Boston-based real estate investment and development firm with deep Greater Boston exposure across multifamily, life sciences, and mixed-use projects. Closely comparable to CC&F in scale, geography, and product mix.
• Leggat McCall Properties: Long-standing Boston commercial and residential developer with comparable history of large-scale ground-up development, historic preservation, and institutional capital partnerships in the Greater Boston market.
• National Development: Massachusetts-based real estate developer of mixed-use, multifamily, and commercial properties, including major projects in Greater Boston suburbs. Operates with similar build-to-suit and JV partnership model as CC&F.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Properties (BXP): One of the largest publicly traded office REITs in the U.S. with dominant Boston/Cambridge presence including many of the same submarkets (e.g., Cambridge, Route 128) where CC&F operates. Comparable on tenant type and geography, but vastly larger and publicly traded.
• Alexandria Real Estate Equities: Leading publicly traded life sciences REIT that acquired The Quad from CC&F's JV in Cambridge. Operates similar lab/life sciences product in the same Boston-area cluster as CC&F's Bolt and 216 New Boston projects.
• Beacon Capital Partners: Boston-based institutional real estate investment manager focused on Class A office and life sciences development in the same submarkets as CC&F, including Cambridge and Greater Boston.
• AvalonBay Communities: Large publicly traded multifamily REIT with a substantial Boston-area apartment portfolio. Compares to CC&F on multifamily residential product type and Boston geography, but operates at much larger institutional scale.
• Tishman Speyer: Global real estate developer with Boston-area activity in life sciences, multifamily, and mixed-use. Comparable on tenant type (e.g., biotech, innovation economy) and large-scale development capabilities, though operates globally rather than regionally.

Regional players

• WinnCompanies: Boston-headquartered multifamily developer, owner, and manager with significant apartment development and historic rehabilitation experience in the Northeast. Strong overlap with CC&F on adaptive reuse and multifamily residential product.

Emerging players

• Hilco Real Estate: Boston-area real estate development and investment firm operating in multifamily and mixed-use across New England. Comparable in regional focus and product type, though typically at smaller project scale than CC&F.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cabot-cabot-&-forbes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cabot, Cabot & Forbes