Real estate
Apartments planned near Packard’s Corner
Eden Properties plans to build as many as 138 apartments in Allston-Brighton. According to its letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Eden envisions a “mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development” on three parcels on Brighton Avenue and Gardner Street, near Packard’s Corner and the B branch of the MBTA’s Green Line. The letter was submitted ahead of a more detailed project notification form, expected within two months. The proposed project is anticipated to include 8,000 square feet of new retail space on Brighton Avenue, 68 parking spaces on the ground floor behind the retail space, covered bike storage for 138 bicycles, and an on-site bicycle repair station, the developer’s letter said. — JACK NEWSHAM
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Health care
Hallmark settles overbilling claim for $1.75 million
Hallmark Health, which operates two hospitals north of Boston, has agreed to pay
$1.75 million on claims it overbilled the state’s Medicaid program. Attorney General Maura Healey said Medford-based Hallmark billed MassHealth for inpatient services when outpatient care or a simple observation would have sufficed. The state alleged overbilling took place from March 2008 through December 2013. Hallmark Health neither admitted to nor denied the allegations. Hallmark operates Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford and Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Melrose. It is in talks to merge with Partners HealthCare, but that proposed deal is on hold. — JACK NEWSHAM
Crime
Nina Ricci heir convicted of tax fraud
PARIS — The heiress of the fashion and perfume house Nina Ricci was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay heavy fines and back taxes for having hidden millions of dollars in HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland. The ruling was the first involving a famous name in the so-called Swissleaks scandal, in which a former HSBC employee gave authorities thousands of names of suspected tax evaders. More trials are expected. A Paris court convicted Arlette Ricci (left), 73, granddaughter of designer Nina Ricci, of tax evasion and money laundering and sentenced her to three years in prison, with two years suspended. The court also ordered a $1.1 million fine and the confiscation of two properties worth $4.2 million. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Energy
Average Mass. gas price rises a cent
With oil prices at record lows, Massachusetts gasoline prices were mostly unchanged last week, rising a penny to an average of $2.34 a gallon. Gas prices have barely changed in a month. A year ago, the state average was $1.19 higher, at $3.53 per gallon. According to users of the website GasBuddy.com, Sal’s in Holbrook was selling the cheapest gas in the state on Monday, at $2.08 per gallon for cash payers. The price of oil has fallen by more than half since last summer because of strong US production and weaker-than-expected demand abroad. The steep decline in gas prices ended in early February, however, and regularly scheduled maintenance at US oil refineries has constrained supplies of gasoline. — JACK NEWSHAM
Biotechnology
Gene therapy company raises $60m more
Voyager Therapeutics,a gene therapy company, has raised another $60 million from investors. The Cambridge company, which is developing treatments for nervous system diseases like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s, said it will use the money to continue researching and testing its products. Founded last year with a $45 million investment, Voyager is developing therapies that are delivered by harmless modified viruses called AAVs. Six new investors participated in the financing round, including Brookside Capital and Partner Fund Management, which co-led the round. Voyager is currently working on five therapeutic programs, according to its website. —
Retail
Roche Bros. opens soon in Downtown Crossing
Roche Bros. Supermarkets plans to open a 25,000-square-foot Downtown Crossing store April 29 that will feature grab-and-go items like prepackaged sushi and sandwiches and have several hot and cold food bars on the ground floor, as well as an outdoor fruit stand. A lower level that formerly housed Filene’s Basement will feature a traditional grocery store with a bakery, deli, cheeses, meats, and fresh seafood. Roche Bros., of Wellesley, says it will be the first full-service supermarket in Downtown Crossing. “Our goal is to provide a complete grocery store for the residents of the area,” said Paul McGillivray, vice president. “There’s also a huge daytime population” that will buy lunch items and groceries to take home. Roche Bros. is seeking approval for 30 seats on Summer Street. Plans also call for an additional 10,000 square feet on the lower level for more grocery items and a wine and beer store slated to open in late 2016. The market will employ 70 full-time and 200 part-time workers. The chain operates 21 supermarkets in Massachusetts. — TARYN LUNA
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Retail
CEO’s pay rises 15% even as sales fall 2.7%
Total compensation for Staples Inc.’s chief executive, Ronald L. Sargent, increased 15 percent to $12.4 million in 2014, according to the Framingham-based company’s latest proxy statement. The gain was mostly attributed to cash incentive awards, up from $667,415 in 2013 to $2.6 million last year. The company’s revenue fell 2.7 percent to $22.5 billion; its North American stores and online business declined 6 percent to $10.5 billion. Last year, Staples closed 169 underperforming stores and emphasized online shopping in its existing retail storefronts to better adapt to the digital age. The retailer agreed in February to buy a rival, Office Depot Inc., for $6.3 billion. The merger, which is awaiting Federal Trade Commission approval, would combine the two largest brick-and-mortar office supply stores in the country. — TARYN LUNA
Mergers & Acquisitions
Appetite for big deals is still growing
LONDON — The current wave of corporate takeovers and mergers will grow, with the appetite for deals hitting a five-year high thanks to a strong dollar and low oil prices, according to a global survey. A striking 56 percent of companies assessed say they intend to make acquisitions in the coming year, up from 40 percent in October, the consulting firm EY said in its half-yearly report. It was the first time since 2010 that more than half of executives said they plan to make an acquisition within 12 months. The number of deals in the pipeline, EY noted, is up 19 percent from a year ago. In the first three months of 2015, the value of mergers and acquisitions hit $888 billion, the highest for the period in at least five years, according to the data provider Dealogic. The second quarter appears to have started strongly, with Shell agreeing to take over BG Group for $70 billion, in what would be the ninth-largest merger ever. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Energy
Solar power: undervalued?
An environmental group says the value of solar energy in Massachusetts is higher than what utilities pay for it, making a case for its continued subsidy. In its report, the Acadia Center said the benefits of solar energy are more than 28 cents per kilowatt-hour. Currently, people who sell solar energy to the power grid get the going rate for power, which varies by utility but is lower than the value calculated by the Acadia Center. It says each kilowatt-hour of solar power saves more than 15 cents that would have been spent generating and transmitting another form of power. — JACK NEWSHAM