Morgan Pierson
Senior vice president of real estate and development, Lupoli Cos.
Age: 42
Industry experience: 18 years
In his previous role at Boston-based Berkeley Investments, Morgan Pierson oversaw notable projects including its partnership with Harvard University on a planned life science and residential development at 176 Lincoln St. in Allston. Pierson takes his 20 years of experience in commercial real estate to the north suburban market in his new role at Lupoli Cos. as senior vice president of real estate and development. The Lawrence-based developer recently landed a major tenant as it repositions the former IBM campus in Littleton for a 2.3 million-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment. Hiper Global leased 72,500 square feet of office, flex and light assembly space at King Street Crossing, which also has approval for 1,089 residential units, a hotel and retail space.
Q: Does your role at Lupoli Cos. represent a new position within the organization?
A: Sal has built an incredible organization here with multiple companies: His hospitality business which is robust and its own juggernaut, and then the real estate business which is his equal passion. We’ve got a little less than 6 million square feet that he has built up over the last 20 years, and over the last five years, he’s built up a future pipeline of 3.5 million square feet of redevelopment and development. What’s happened is he looked and in a very excited way realized you needed a larger team to make sure we could be successful in that pipeline and continue to manage the existing portfolio to keep the company on a positive growth trajectory. One of our bigger examples is the old IBM headquarters off Interstate 495 in Littleton. It’s almost 50 acres, which he has master plan approval with the town for almost 1,100 new apartments, 115,000 square feet of retail, a 150-key hotel and over 650,000 square feet of existing and new commercial space. That’s a major undertaking for any one group, and we have several of those underway. So, my focus is on making sure the pipeline continues to progress as well as looking at future investments.
Q: What does the repositioning plan for the commercial space at Littleton’s King Street Crossing say about the current demand drivers in the suburbs?
A: We are keeping both buildings and we hope to have another lease in the near future. We want to keep flexibility and we have the ability to have some of it be lab space, but the industrial-flex is a strong part of the market right now, and it lends itself to suburban office use as well. Clean tech is really growing in Massachusetts and in the suburbs, where they have more room to spread wings. Clean tech, robotics and clean energy seem to be active. The other piece that broadens it for us with the Littleton [project] is the future vision that people see when they come to tour. Any office user looking to consolidate its headquarters or disparate teams, they see the future there and it becoming like a Marketstreet Lynnfield or Derby Street Shoppes. It’s a little mini-city where you can leave your office after work and grab groceries or a drink with colleagues.
Q: How soon do you expect to break ground on the residential phase?
A: Hopefully we’ll be in the ground late next year. That is our goal, and I think that’s realistic. We may be able to [finance] it ourselves, which is a tremendous attribute of this company. If not, we are talking to partners all the time. What will be interesting is whether the Fed lowers rates one or two or three times, and to what degree that affects return expectations across the capital markets. That’s where we get the most excited: when we start to see that happen.
Q: What are the next milestones for Lupoli Cos.’ downtown Haverhill redevelopment at the former Goecke parking garage?
A: Haverhill is one that’s one our front burner. It was an old garage that sat right in downtown Haverhill that is in the process of being demolished right now. We expect to be complete in October, at which point we are going to construct a new garage that will serve three new buildings, all apartments. That’s going to be an incredible plaza with skating adjacent to a new food hall on Merrimack Street. The new garage will have housing above it. There’s 24,000 square feet of retail in the project, and we are figuring out the food hall square-footage. The three apartment buildings will likely be built in three phases.
Q: As a developer concentrating on Gateway Cities and suburbs, what are the challenges and advantages in the market?
A: The urban sites can’t be built. They just do not pencil. I spent a lot of my career developing and financing them and it’s gotten to the point where it’s infeasible. You combine that with a very clear and I think undisputed realization that we are in a housing crisis in Massachusetts and in the country. Lease-up is not the main concern. If you go back 10 years, when you built something, one of the conversations you had with your team was absorption. That’s not what we’re talking about in these markets. The demand is so high. The supply has been completely choked off. There are 20,000 units that are approved in Boston and not under construction. I live in Boston and I love that city. I worry about what it means for the future and the region. Massachusetts remains an incredible place to live, but we also hear from our tenants and our own colleagues that worry about housing their employees and also use transportation within the state. So those are the things we are watching, just like interest rates.
Pierson’s Five Favorite Podcasts Right Now:
- “Unhedged” by The Financial Times
- “The Rewatchables” with Bill Simmons
- “What’s Your Problem?” with Jacob Goldstein
- “Medal of Honor” with Malcolm Gladwell
- “The Big Dig” by WGBH
