A suburban office park is losing its anchor tenant but has found a new buyer nonetheless, with Nordic Properties said to be acquiring 55 Walkers Brook Drive in Reading. Located just off Route 128, the complex has three buildings situated on approximately 14 acres.
“The property is under agreement to be sold,” confirmed Trammell Crow Co. principal Michael Dalton, who is representing the owner, Walkers Brook LLC, along with Trammell principal Brian T. Hines. Dalton would not identify the suitor or give a sales price, and calls to Nordic President Ogden Hunnewell were not returned by Banker & Tradesman’s press deadline. Despite the silence on both sides, several sources maintained that Burlington-based Nordic is the buyer in tow.
“That’s them,” one broker said last week, also claiming that the crafty real estate company is already in discussions with one potential tenant for 55 Walkers Brook Drive, which totals about 185,000 square feet. Developed in the mid-1980s for The Analytic Sciences Corp., the property was purchased by TASC official Harry B. Silverman in 1997 after his firm was absorbed by another company. Defense giant Northrop Grumman ultimately became anchor tenant until signing a lease late last year at Brickstone Square in North Andover. That operation is expected to relocate by late spring.
Dalton and Hines had been charged with either leasing 55 Walkers Brook Drive or selling the asset. According to Dalton, the property had been receiving substantial interest on both fronts, even as the northern tier of Route 128 struggles to overcome the regional recession which was especially difficult in fringe submarkets.
“We’ve had a pile of activity,” Dalton told Banker & Tradesman, adding that he believes “there isn’t a better site on Route 128 for the visibility” and predicting that the new owner will be able to take advantage of that feature. One source estimated the sales price at about $100 per square foot, or around $18 million, but Dalton would not comment on details.
‘Room for Both’
One intriguing question regarding the pending sale is whether Nordic would retain 55 Walkers Brook Drive as an office location or look to take advantage of a surge in retail development occurring in the immediate area. Located directly across the street is a massive retail complex constructed on Reading’s one-time landfill. The 33-acre complex features a Home Depot, Jordan’s Furniture and a so-called lifestyle center component that has several restaurants including a Chili’s, Bear Rock Cafe and Macaroni Bar & Grill.
Again, Dalton would not discuss the prospect’s prospects, but one source maintained that the parcel is large enough to allow conversion of a portion of the park to retail, perhaps as a strip center or individual retail pads. “In the end, I think you will see a mix,” said the source. Ironically, the landfill property also was destined at one time to become a significant office park, with Homart Development Corp. tying the parcel up in the late 1980s before the recession of the early 1990s quashed that initiative.
The repositioning of Walkers Brook Drive to retail took hold when Dickinson Development of Quincy moved forward with its proposal and succeeded in landing Jordan’s Furniture. The same key reason that the area works for office – immediate access off Route 128 – has been a draw among retailers as well, according to industry experts familiar with the area. Plans are already under way to convert some underused commercial properties across the street from 55 Walkers Brook Drive into modern retail, with a major supermarket among the ideas being considered at present by town officials.
Spaulding & Slye Managing Director Tamie Thompson has watched the northern Route 128 suburban market evolve over time, and concurred that Walkers Brook Drive is leaning heavily on the retail sector as its latest incarnation. Even so, Thompson said she believes office users will continue to be drawn to the strip, noting that many companies prefer retail amenities to help attract employees. “I think there’s room for both,” she said.
The tepid office market has also played a role in how the submarket is being built out, said Thompson, as evidenced by former office sites being scooped up for alternative uses down into Lexington, primarily retail but also for multi-family construction. One exit south on Route 128, the former Addison Wesley Publishing office park is being proposed for a change to retail, while Patriot Partners is well underway on another former office property in Burlington that is being converted into a lifestyle center.
Other office properties nearby include the Beal Cos.’ 100 Quannapowitt Parkway in Wakefield, located on the other side of Route 128, plus commercial space owned by Carney & Co. Among the firms rumored to be in a growth pattern in the area is health care software company and 100 Quannapowitt Parkway tenant Picis Inc., which one source claimed is now out looking for upward of 75,000 square feet. Sources could not say whether the firm is considering 55 Walkers Brook Drive, although one broker called the asset “a perfect fit” for that company’s requirements.