C.Q. Properties, a division of the Campanelli Cos., purchased the three-building, 131-acre former Polaroid campus in Norwood last week for $17.3 million.
C.Q. Properties, a division of the Braintree-based Campanelli Cos., one of the largest landlords in the southern Massachusetts market, has purchased the former Polaroid campus in Norwood for $17.3 million.
The transaction, concluded last week, includes 131 acres of land and three buildings totaling 425,000 square feet of office, research and development, and light manufacturing space. Polaroid built the complex for its own occupancy in the late 1960s with the intention of using it for film production for the company’s signature instant cameras. Today, Polaroid needs less space, and as part of the deal, the company will lease back 62,000 square feet from C.Q. Properties.
Scott Jamieson, senior vice president of the Boston office of Spaulding & Slye Colliers, who represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction, said that the property was on the market for about four months. He said that the campus attracted a high level of interest.
“Acquiring 131 acres of land right outside Route 128 is an extremely unique opportunity,” Jamieson said. “Yes, the market is soft today, but it won’t be forever.”
Current tenants include 3M, JDS Uniphase and Precision Optics, which occupy a combined 150,000 square feet of space at the campus.
The sale of the property did present challenges. For one, the age and condition of the buildings will require extensive renovations, Jamieson said. Also, the new owner will have more than 200,000 square feet of vacant space to offer for lease immediately, at a time when the commercial real estate market is mired in a deep slump. However, the opportunities for additional development on land adjacent to the existing buildings provides was attractive to suitors for the property, according to Jamieson.
Meeting a ‘Mandate’
William J. Plasko, chairman of the Norwood Board of Selectmen, agrees. He said the town has held preliminary meetings with representatives from Campanelli, and from what he’s heard so far, the developer’s plans fit with the town’s vision for the parcel.
“The type of companies they’re talking about attracting will enhance the tax base and ease the burden on the surrounding residential properties,” said Plasko, adding that his home abuts a back corner of the Polaroid property. “It’s nothing but a plus. But, if they come forward with a different plan, like scrap industrial and residential, then that’s a different story.”
Plasko said that Campanelli is planning to divide the 131 acres of land into six or eight parcels for individual sale. Plasko characterized the new owners’ plans for filling the park with new tenants as very aggressive and said that Campanelli has already begun marketing the land, at least through its own circle of business connections.
“They’ve been putting feelers out,” Plasko said.
Campanelli may have already gotten at least one bite, and possibly a big one. Plasko said the developers are courting a high-end, high-tech firm with the hopes of convincing its executives to make the move from Boston to Norwood.
“These are modern, clean businesses,” Plasko said. “If that’s how they follow through with this, they’ll get a warm welcome.”
With C.Q. Properties’ plans to bring new tenants and its future development of the property, Denis Drummey, another member of the town’s Board of Selectmen, projects that Norwood could see an increase its annual property tax income for the campus rise from the $809,608 paid by Polaroid in 2002 up to several million.
“Norwood is very well run but like everyone else, the state’s a basket case and local aid has dried up,” he said. “It’s supply-side economics; we’re trying to grow our revenue side by bringing in more companies.”
Norwood’s now armed with a tool that will help it lure companies within its boundaries. The town’s officially been named an Economic Target Area, a state designation that provides a 5 percent investment tax credit for money invested in Norwood along with the ability to negotiate a local property tax break on new investments of between 1 percent and 50 percent for a period of five to 20 years.
While the Campanelli Cos. doesn’t benefit from the ETA designation directly, any companies it brings into the business park may qualify. In fact, Campanelli has already made an initial proposal for a tax incremental finance agreement for a potential new neighbor. By January, Drummey hopes that Norwood will decide on at least one or two of the tax incremental finance agreements to spur additional development. Drummey said that there are at least five “quality” developers or companies interested in building at or relocating to Norwood under the program.
Norwood has a lot to offer, Plasko said, including proximity to major highways, railroad and bus lines, its own airport and low electric rates.
“We wanted to get this Economic Target Area [designation] as a tool to bring in quality companies. We’re not talking about Burger King here, we already have one of those,” Drummey said. “Our mandate is high-tech, biotech or financial services. That’s the future of the Massachusetts economy; it’s not manufacturing anymore.”
Robert C. DeMarco, partner and manager of real estate for Campanelli, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Campanelli, a commercial real estate development company, focuses on industrial, office, warehouse/distribution and retail markets. In the more than 50 years since its inception, Campanelli has developed more than 12 million square feet of space locally, including the Hanover Mall Shopping Center, the TJX Headquarters and Quincy Center Plaza.
Last year, an affiliate of One Equity Partners acquired substantially all of Polaroid’s assets, creating a new company that operates under the Polaroid Corp. name.
Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in October 2001. Polaroid supplies photographic cameras and films, digital imaging hardware, software and media; secure identification systems and sunglasses to markets worldwide.
