Boston Scientific Corp. has sold its longtime distribution center in Quincy for $31 million.

The Marlborough-based medical device manufacturer has leased back its 400,000-square-foot distribution center on 52 acres, spokesman Thomas Keppeler said. It’s retaining ownership of a 600,000-square-foot warehouse which will be renovated for future use.

Boston Scientific bought the pair of former Jordan Marsh department store warehouses in 1998 for $13.6 million but has largely only occupied the 400,000-square-foot north building, with the rest of the space used sparingly for storage, Keppeler said. It will move to the 600,000-square-foot south building next year following a multimillion-dollar capital improvement project, Keppeler said.

The project will improve the $7.5 billion company’s logistics and inventory tracking systems, with upgrades to electrical systems, software and HVAC systems, Keppeler said. The 86-acre site serves as Boston Scientific’s global fulfillment operation for all of its products, ranging from cardiac devices to neuromodulation equipment.

The new owner of the property is Scannell Properties of Salt Lake City, Utah, according to property records compiled by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. JLL Boston’s capital markets team represented the seller and procured the buyer.

Federal Express has leased over 275,000 square feet in the facility from the new owner, spokesman David Westrick said. The Quincy location will supplement an existing distribution center in Wilmington serving the Greater Boston area. FedEx picked the Quincy site because of its proximity to major highways and FedEx customers’ distribution centers, Westrick said in an email.

Accelerated delivery schedules by online retailers is generating demand for warehouse and distribution space closer to population centers, according to industry research. Warehouse vacancy rates in Greater Boston hit an all-time low of 11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Transwestern RBJ’s indSTATus report.

Amazon completed development of a 328,000-square-foot warehouse in Stoughton last year and is building a 1-million-square-foot fulfillment center in South Coast Life Science & Technology Park on the Fall River-Freetown line.
Boston Scientific is selling off its unused properties throughout the U.S. and reinvesting the proceeds in modernization of others, Keppeler said.