Luxury rental tower springs up

If you've driven down Essex Street in Boston heading toward South Station, you've undoubtedly noticed the construction project that's been in development at 120 Kingston St.

The project, which broke ground in September 2012, is within months of completion. For Forest City, which is developing it with the Hudson Group, it's the first such project in Boston to date.

Located on the edge of Boston's Chinatown, this new luxury rental development will include 240 studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse contemporary residences available for lease in the spring. Officially known as the Radian, the development will offer modern rentals on the Rose Fitzgerald ­Kennedy Greenway and will feature panoramic views of Boston along with luxury amenities and services for residents.

Additionally, Radian will have 4,500 square feet of retail space available on the ground floor with an outdoor patio perfect for a restaurant and cafe.

The retail space is being marketed by Jesse Baerkahn and Dave Downing of Graffito SP, a team with extensive experience in ­urban place-making in Boston and Cambridge. Graffito SP helped transform Kendall Square into a retail and restaurant destination by bringing Area Four, Commonwealth, FireBrand Saints and Tatte Bakery to the neighborhood. In Boston, the firm just completed work on the restaurant and coffee bar at District Hall and The Club by George Foreman III in Fort Point.

"Radian is the premier rental tower opening downtown next year. As the gateway to the Greenway, Radian is at the nexus of three vibrant neighborhoods and will become a new icon in the Boston skyline," said Doug Arsham, vice president of development for Forest City Boston. "Our vision is to offer an enhanced living experience through top-of-market finishes, services and amenities, while also offering a respite from the bustling city life. We are very pleased with the initial response we received for Radian, on the first day that our teaser website launched we received approximately 100 inquiries."

Keep this property on your list if you're in the market to lease. With a location that's ideal for the downtown professional, it's set to fill up very quickly.

Charlie Abrahams is a licensed real estate agent in Boston who works with buyers and sellers and can be reached for any additional information at: Bostonrealestate@charlieabrahams.com

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Apple takes $290M bite of Samsung

In an industry where ripping off another company's ideas is the norm, Samsung took copycatting too far with its mobile devices, according to a federal jury that ruled yesterday that the Korean manufacturer must pay Apple $290 million on top of $600 million from a previous judgment.

Samsung took a calculated risk by using design elements that were dangerously similar to Apple's. The original model of its Samsung Galaxy series of mobile devices, the S i9000, has the same outer frame, screen and icon placement as the iPhone, specifically the 3Gs model — including those handy phone and mail shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the home screen. And the original Galaxy Tab is nearly the mirror-image of the original iPad in terms of appearance.

Many have argued that it was unfair for the government to issue such broad patents in the first place. Should Apple really own design characteristics as basic as a rectangular frame with curved edges? But guess what — before the iPhone, there were no smartphones that looked like that. And not every smartphone that followed looked like that.

Microsoft smartphones are the best example. They neither look nor act like 
Apple devices. But the U.S. consumer electronics market isn't necessarily the greatest judge of innovation, with Windows phones still struggling to gain market share.

Samsung actually sold more mobile phones nat­ionwide than Apple in 2011. The smartphones cited in the lawsuit generated 
$7.5 billion in revenue from June 2010 to June 2012, 
so I'd say that calculated risk paid off for Samsung. Big time.

And Samsung's troubles with Apple might not be over. While testing the new Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom yesterday — which is supposed to be a 
truly unique smartphone 
because its face looks like a digital camera — I realized the back of the device is the twin to my iPhone 5. They literally share a footprint.

Not that Apple has the moral high ground on 
intellectual property. The company has been subject to its own set of patent claims, including one by Boston University alleging that it stole an engineering professor's manufacturing technique for blue LEDs.

So don't expect the 
mob­ile patent wars — which have embroiled Google and HTC as well — to end anytime soon. The greatest idea these com­panies have had in a long time is to lawyer up.

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Jury awards $24.4M to parents of Tufts patient

The parents of a boy whose intestines were damaged by an infection that went undetected in Tufts Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit for nearly a day have been awarded a 
$24.4 million judgment by a jury, but will receive only $5.3 million under a prior deal between the parties.

Edward Xu, who is now 9 years old, was a premature newborn when he got the infection that distended his belly.

Lawyer Benjamin Nov­otny, with Lubin and Meyer, said Edward's parents 
alerted a doctor who ordered
X-rays after 11 hours, but 
those only captured the
half of his belly that was not infected. Nov­otny said it took another 13 hours before doctors realized what was wrong.

Yesterday, a jury returned a verdict that orders the hospital to pay $24.4 million to Edward's parents. However, both sides had agreed to limit the payout to $5.3 million under a deal that would have ensured some payment to the family regardless of the verdict.

"I'm just happy to see the family get the help that they need," Novotny said. "His parents take a bag of fluid and they tie it to a pole 
beside his bed. The bag feeds a tube in his chest. For eight to 10 hours a night he stays hooked up to these machines. It will be like this for the rest of his life."

The boy underwent emergency surgery to remove the damaged and infected lengths of his intestine, but the medical costs involved in his care are more than $2,000 a week, Novotny said.

Tufts yesterday defended its care of the boy.

"We have reviewed this case thoroughly and Edward was monitored closely by a team of experienced medical experts. They performed early medical and surgical interventions to save his life, using the most advanced techniques," the hospital said in a statement following the verdict. "Our care team is saddened that the best medicine available could not give him a better outcome."

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Harvard sues over bell crack

Harvard University has resorted to legal action to settle a dispute over a cracked church bell whose morning tolls were the bane of many a bleary-eyed freshman.

The Ivy League school is suing Chime Master Systems, accusing the Ohio company of installing a defective clapper that allegedly caused the almost 5,000-pound Harvard Yard bell to crack in 2011 and produce an "abnormally loud and noticeably harsh" sound when rung, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Boston on Monday.

Harvard wants Chime Master, which was hired in 2006 to maintain the bell and recommended a custom replacement clapper in 2011, to pay damages for alleged negligence and breach of warranty.

"As a result of Chime Master's improper work, Harvard has incurred costs in determining the cause of the crack in the Memorial Church bell and will incur great expense for its replacement," Harvard's complaint states.

Chime Master president Jeff Crook referred calls to his insurance company's attorney, who declined comment.

Cast in England, the Memorial Church bell was donated in 1932 by then-Harvard president A. Lawrence Lowell and installed as part of the church's dedication in honor of Harvard students who died in World War I.

A 24- to 30-inch crack in the bell was noticed a little more than two months after the clapper was installed, according to court documents. An electronic chime is now used and, like the bell, is rung at 8:40 a.m., and every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"Regarding repair or replacement, no final determination has been made about next steps," a Harvard official said yesterday.

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Two biotechs get $100M-plus injections

Two Cambridge biotech companies added more than $100 million to their coffers yesterday, but for every different reasons.

Moderna, a biotech company that developed a way to force specific cells to manufacture drugs on demand, announced it raised $110 million in a new financing round, led by Flagship Ventures.

"We are pleased with the confidence and enthusiasm that our investors continue to demonstrate by providing the resources to advance Moderna's clinical development platform," Stephane Bancel, president and CEO of Moderna, said in a statement.

Bancel, noting Moderna has now raised 
$450 million in total, said the funding will allow it to continue its work without jumping on the recent biotech IPO bandwagon.

Also yesterday, pharmaceutical giant Vertex announced it had sold the royalty rights to Incivo — a hepatitis C drug — to Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. for $152 million.

Vertex said the sale will allow it to continue to focus on its cystic fibrosis drug.

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Asia stocks down as Fed stimulus views shift again

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Asian stock markets except Japan were in the red Thursday amid jitters over new signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it may cut monetary stimulus sooner than expected.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.7 percent to 23,539.83 and China's Shanghai Composite lost 1.1 percent to 2,183.50. Seoul's Kospi was down 1.2 percent to 1993.20 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.3 percent to 5,292.20.

Japan's Nikkei 225 bucked the trend to rise 1.3 percent to 15,278.15, boosted by a weaker yen.

Minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting showed that the central bank would likely start tapering off its bond purchases in "coming months" if the job market improved further. Fed members also weighed the possibility of slowing the purchases even without clear evidence of a strengthening job market.

The Fed's $85 billion monthly bond purchases have kept interest rates low to spur spending and growth but also sent a wave of investment into stocks in search of higher returns.

"Together with extensive discussions on alternative policy response to keep rates low ... it indeed looks increasingly likely that the focus is now on keeping rates low after tapering, rather than delaying tapering," Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a market commentary.

It said reduction of the bond purchases could begin as early as January, contrary to some expectations that the stimulus could stay until March at least.

The Fed's stimulus, in its various guises, has helped shore up risky assets such as stocks around the world and emerging market currencies, over the past few years as the money created has been recycled through financial markets.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 66.21 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,900.82. It was up 20 points shortly before the minutes were released. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 6.50 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,781.37. The Nasdaq lost 10.28 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,921.27.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude was down 20 cents $93.65 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 1 cent to close at $93.33 on Wednesday.

The euro fell to $1.3417 from S$1.3432 late Wednesday. The dollar rose to 100.45 yen from 100.21 yen.

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Foxwoods loses Milford hand

The state's eastern casino license region has been pared down to just one contender with a successful host community vote — Everett's Wynn Resorts proposal — after Milford voters rejected Foxwoods yesterday in a classic "David vs. Goliath" beatdown, with a grassroots effort that trounced the casino by a 2-1 margin.

With 57 percent of registered Milford voters casting a ballot, casino foes defeated the proposal 6,361 votes to 3,480.

"From our very first meeting held around a kitchen table, we acknowledged that we would be fighting a David vs. Goliath battle," Casino-Free Milford co-chairmen John Seaver and Steve Trettel said in a joint statement. "We knew we would never be able to match the dollars of the Foxwoods campaign. We also knew that money does not buy everything. ... We worked together, and we prevailed."

"It's disappointing, but we have to respect the decision," said Foxwoods President and CEO Scott Butera. "It would have been a project that the commonwealth and the town of Milford would have been proud of."

It was just the latest casino snub by voters. Milford's nay vote follows East Boston's rejection of Suffolk Downs — which is now scrambling to cobble together a Hail Mary deal in Revere only. That currently leaves Wynn in Everett with the eastern region's only host community yea vote, though the deal still needs Gaming Commission approval. Voters also have rejected western Massachusetts casino bids in Palmer and West Springfield. Springfield voters approved an MGM casino, but that also has yet to pass a Gaming Commission suitability hearing.

Suffolk Downs has not announced a new partner since cutting ties with Caesars Entertainment over Gaming Commission concerns about debt and purported mob links. Foxwoods' Butera, when asked whether he would consider teaming up with the racetrack in Revere, said, "We haven't thought about anything like that at this point."

In Milford, opponents said a casino would inundate Milford with as many as 7 million visitors a year, bringing traffic, crime and lower property values. Proponents said it would bring Milford $34 million annually and create 3,500 jobs and a $1 million scholarship fund for local students.

"We're disappointed, but not surprised," said Mike Kaplan of Citizens for Milford's Future, which received $24,000 in funding from Foxwoods, which spent more than $800,000 to the $23,770 spent by Casino-Free Milford.

"It's easy to stay the same," Kaplan said. "People wanted to keep the town the way it is and not risk anything But if you're not going to take any risks, you're not going to get any benefits."

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Mass. to get $34M from JPMorgan

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase will pay $13 billion — with $34.4 million going to Massachusetts — in the largest settlement from a single group in history, to settle claims by the federal government that it misrepresented investments, leading to the housing bubble.

Under the settlement, JPMorgan acknowledged that it made "serious misrepresentations to the public" about residential mortgage-backed securities, leading in part to the financial crisis, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

"Without a doubt, the conduct uncovered in this investigation helped sow the seeds of the mortgage meltdown," said Attorney General Eric Holder in the statement.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who took part in the suit against JPMorgan, said the settlement sends a message. "This settlement today is part of our ongoing effort to hold Wall Street accountable for its role in the financial crisis," she said in a statement.

Massachusetts will use some of the money to repay PRIM, the state pension program that invested in JPMorgan securities, and set aside a portion for consumer relief.

"We are pleased to have concluded this extensive agreement with the President's RMBS Working Group and to have resolved the civil claims of the Department of Justice and others. Today's settlement covers a very significant portion of legacy mortgage-backed securities-related issues for JPMorgan Chase, as well as Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual," chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

Much of the settlement will be used to repay investors, but JPMorgan will pay $4 billion for consumer relief and a $2 billion fine.

On Friday, JPMorgan announced it had reached a $4.5 billion settlement with 21 major institutional investors over similar claims.

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Nordblom plans 602 apartments in South End near old Herald site

A new development featuring more than 600 residential units has been proposed for the booming South End area opposite where the Herald once stood.

The proposed development at 345 Harrison Ave. would consist of two buildings — 13 and 14 stories tall — spread over two acres, according to documents filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The project would include ground-level retail outlets and restaurants, topped by 602 rental units and a "green" roof above the parking garage.

"In many ways, the neighborhood has been 'frozen in time' and has not benefited from the cultural and architectural renaissance enjoyed by the balance of the South End," the project proposal, filed by developer Nord-blom Co., says.

At least 10 percent of the apartments would be considered affordable housing by the city, the proposal said.

The development would replace the warehouse currently used by Graybar Electric Co. On the former Herald site across the street, development on the "Ink Block" is already under way, a project that will include nearly 500 luxury condos and rental units, as well as a Whole Foods supermarket.

Nordblom's proposal includes access from the Ink Block to the Silver Line on Washington Street.

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Westboro IT co. raises $58M, to hire 150

A Westboro-based IT infrastructure company has raised $58 million, which it plans to use to hire 150 more people in Massachusetts over the next year.

SimpliVity's goal is to simplify IT infrastructure by taking 12 different products — such as storage and networking — and assimilating them into a single building block that it calls the Omni Cube, said CEO Doron Kempel, who founded the company in 2009.

"We've developed a new data architecture, data that filters any redundancy so that only unique data is stored, which increases the performance of the system and reduces the amount of space and power that is required," Kempel said.

This "architecture" also allows for a single person to manage data globally from a single location, he said.

Matt Murphy, general partner at Kleiner Perkins, the Menlo Park, Calif., firm that led both a $25 million funding round for SimpliVity last year and the latest round, said the firm acted because of an "acceleration of enterprises building out their own cloud-like infrastructure."

"There are between eight and 11 new products you need to manage and work well together," Murphy said. "The beauty of SimpliVity is they did it all in one appliance. They're really taking on IBM, EMC, VMware, Dell. All of them are talking about making their own solution, but they're late to the market."

SimpliVity released its product earlier this year, Kempel said, and since then, demand has soared.

"We need to grow as quickly as possible," he said. The company, which has 100 employees in Westboro, expects to hire another 150 in Massachusetts over the next year, including 50 more engineers within the next four months.

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