Photo courtesy of Connolly Brothers Inc.
The Connolly Brothers construction management and development firm has bought an office building in its home city of Beverley, with potential plans for change.
The company paid Riverstone International Insurance $6 million for 75 Sam Fonzo Drive, according to an Essex County deed filed Aug. 22. No mortgage appears to have been filed.
The 150,183-square-foot building sits on 38.84 acres close to Exit 45A on Route 128, city property records show.
Riverstone is the successor, by merger, to the company that originally commissioned the building, Electric Insurance Company. Coincidentally, Connolly Brothers said in announcing the deal that it had designed and built the Cherry Hill Industrial Park building for Electric Insurance in 2001.
Connolly Brothers indicated in its announcement that it planned to reposition or redevelop the property, calling it “an ideal build-to-suit opportunity, as well as the potential for future expansion of the existing building.”
Existing amenities include an on-site fitness center complete with locker rooms, commercial kitchen and cafeteria with banquette seating, an outdoor patio and a basketball court, Connolly Brother said. The Cherry Hill Industrial Park counts tenants like semiconductor component maker Axcelis Technologies, medical technology company Medtronic and biotech MilliporeSigma.
“We are thrilled to add 75 Sam Fonzo Drive to our real estate portfolio. The acquisition offers multiple opportunities to reposition the property by renovating the existing office building for a new tenant or redeveloping the property as a build-to suite for a new use,” company Vice President of Real Estate/Development Thad Minshall said in a statement. “At 38 acres there are very few sites on the North Shore that offer the same access and lot size required for a significant development.”
Research by commercial brokerage Colliers put the availability rate for the 6.8 million-square-foot Route 128 North office submarket at 19.7 percent as of June 30, with the market having clocked in 115,749 square feet of positive absorption so far this year. Average asking rent for the submarket sat at $23.77 for the second quarter, Colliers said.
