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The Real Reporter
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A COMPENDIUM OF COMMERCIAL
NEWS
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MARCH 17, 2015
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
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Industrial Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
..............4
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Letter of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Being There. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
BY JOE CLEMENTS
Design Build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
After Route 128 Office Acquisition,
Ferris Wins DTZ Listing for $24M
W
THE REAL REPORT
More in Storage
BOSTON — After harvesting their
own homespun self-storage project
near Logan International Airport
in September, the Grossman Cos. has
jumped back into the arena here by
acquiring a similar property in
Boston’s Roslindale district, paying
$8.8 million for
the Roslindale
Self
Storage
facility at 34-44
Lochdale
Rd.
and 48 and 99
Mahler Rd. off
Washington Street
David B. Grossman abutting
the
Arnold Arboretum. Backed by $6.4
million from Brookline Bank,
Grossman Cos. purchased the 366unit asset for $8.8 million from James
C. Dow and Christina M. Dow of
Northeastern Realty Trust.
“We have been looking to buy
more self-storage over the past three
years, but it has been very challenging to find a compelling property,”
Co-President David B. Grossman
explains to Real Report after closing this past week on the 1.3-acre
parcel that had been in James Dow’s
continued on page 8
ESTBOROUGH — One
of the MetroWest’s
most prolific real estate
investors this decade is about
to secure another substantial
asset in 4 and 8 Technology
Dr., a pair of resilient Class B
office buildings being marketed through DTZ whose
Capital Markets team wasted
little time after an agreement
with the first winning bidder
continued on page 27 1432 Main St., Waltham MA
Griffith Wins JLL Urban Warehouse Listing
BY JOE CLEMENTS
D
EDHAM — Set amidst several residential neighborhoods, the enduring 480
Sprague St. can be a bit hard to
find and is not especially
remarkable save for the 55year-old warehouse’s location
bordering Boston’s Readville
section, but thanks to a sudden
ardor for urban industrial and a
480 Sprague St., Dedham MA
continued on page 26
Colliers Listing 1.2M SF of Industrial CRE
BY JOE CLEMENTS
C
HARLESTOWN — Suddenly, 440460 Rutherford Ave. has never
looked so attractive, with a dearth of
urban industrial making the non-descript,
440-460 Rutherford Ave., Charlestown MA
single-story building here near Sullivan
Square an anticipated darling now that it
is being made available through Colliers
International. Its Boston Capital Markets
continued on page 28
March 17, 2015
THE REAL REPORTER
27
DTZ Listing
continued from page 1
faltered on the finish line a month
ago, opening the opportunity for
Ferris Development Group to step
up on a pact some peg in the $24
million range. If accurate, that would
surpass the $21.5 million FDG spent
in November 2013 on another
Westborough office property, the
landmark One Research Dr. that had
brought $55 million in a mid-2000’s
purchase. The new hands-on owner 8 Tech Park Dr., Westborough MA
of 1432 and 1440
Main
St.
in
Waltham, led by
namesake David
Ferris,
was
brought to the
opportunity by
Tr a n s w e s t e r n
David Ferris
RBJ, which is
advising the partnership of Charles
River Realty Investors and
Crosspoint Associates, as first
detailed in mid-January by Real
Reporter in an article that had
experts accurately peg pricing at
$22 million for properties dating to 4 Technology Park Dr., Westborough MA
1984 and 1981 that indicated strong rent that also has holdings in Littleton, treaded the difficult beginning to the
decade. Besides tenants from
income from being in the mid-90 percent Marlborough and Southborough.
“It’s real close,” says one marRoute 128, proximity to Worcester
range and assets poised to ride anticipated
has enabled landlords to tap into
market growth in the coming years from ket veteran of the latter discuscompanies there as well, notes a
rates in the mid-$20’s sions on 4 and 8 Technology Dr.
CRE veteran who insists the latest
per sf that some claim who insists FDG is conducting due
rebound is poised for continued
the buildings have rents diligence on the buildings that
were intriguing enough for the
growth in occupancy and rents.
averaging.
That idea is backed by CBRE/NE
The Transwestern brokerage contingent to draw “a
survey showing the inventory of
RBJ team is led by John ton of action” by one account from John Lashar
13.8 million sf had an impressive
Lashar, with Paul Leone a veteran in the Interstate 495
positive net absorption last year of
and Danielle Demarco. office market who has seen the
David J. Pergola
394,650 sf, the most among 10
They delivered FDG the vast fluctuations during the past
submarkets tracked in the review
One Research Dr. asset 10 years from a period of bust to
that puts vacancy now at 21.1 perand was then engaged boom and back to bust again in
cent, down from 25.8 percent one
to reposition that prop- 2008. The latter dip was so disrupyear prior. The submarket had
erty towards cost-con- tive as to cast several buildings in
recorded 309,000 sf of positive net
scious tenants fleeing key locations into foreclosure
absorption in 2013.
rising rents closer into after vacancy rates spiked even in Paul Leone
The larger and newer of the
Boston, ala Genzyme the normally solid Westborough
assets is 4 Technology Dr., a
Corp., which a few cluster where I-495 and Route 9
Brian R. Doherty
117,625-sf building on 8.4 acres
months later filled the converge a short distance from
dating to 1992, whereas 8
final 115,000 sf in a departure from the Massachusetts Turnpike. That
Technology Dr. total 104,000 sf
Framingham. That deal was also previous- is right where 4 and 8 Technology
and was constructed in 1987 on a
ly unveiled by Real Reporter, and now mar- Dr. are situated in the
7.3-acre parcel. Their prior sale
ket sources insist the investor has lined up Westborough Technology Park
occurred in May 1998 when the
a second Westborough prospect, a hefty and now appear poised to reward
n
morsel of 220,000 sf to absorb for the firm their current ownership who Danielle DeMarco assets fetched $50.7 million.