The competition for who will buy the Bedford Business Park from Boston Properties is down to two bidders.

According to industry sources, it’s nearly neck and neck, and it’s The Davis Cos. vs. National Development/Charles River Realty Investors. The price tag will be in the neighborhood of $65 to $66 million.

The 379,056-square-foot Bedford Business Park is situated on a 22-acre site with more than 1,250 surface parking spaces. The park has three buildings, including one three-story Class A office building. The others are a two-story research and development building and a series of two-story attached research & development buildings, according to Boston Properties’ website. The assets, which BP bought in 1976, were built between 1962 and 1968. The properties have undergone a series of renovations, most recently in 2001.

When asked if the price was right, an industry executive familiar with the pending deal said that it’s neither high nor low, but market value.

“That’s what it’s trading for,” the source told Banker & Tradesman. “Properties are trading pretty well right now.”

While the price might be on the mark for investors, Bedford Business Park as an asset is far from the norm for Boston Properties, according to a senior broker at a major downtown firm. It represents one of the company’s earlier purchases and is one of just a few R&D properties in the portfolio, though they are best-in-class R&D buildings, he said.

“The challenges are that it’s sort of a legacy for Boston Properties,” the broker said. “They held onto it for emotional reasons … rather than for strategic reasons. Boston Properties has a saying that they’re ‘an inch wide and a mile deep.’ But [Bedford Business Park] doesn’t fit that. It’s not a trophy property,” or in a strong market like the Back Bay or Waltham.

Email: jcronin@thewarrengroup.com

Bedford Business Park