Life sciences company Cytyc Corp. reportedly is preparing to lease space at Marlborough’s 445 Simarano Drive.
More than two years after returning to Marlborough following a stint in Boxboro, life sciences company Cytyc Corp. reportedly is preparing to make a bigger commitment to its re-adopted hometown.
According to industry sources, Cytyc tentatively has agreed to lease space at Marlborough’s 445 Simarano Drive, an industrial/flex building located barely a half-mile from the company’s corporate headquarters at The Campus at Marlborough. The targeted address is owned by Maine-based Ram Management Corp. and has approximately 145,000 square feet available, all of which Cytyc would occupy, sources said, with the company supposedly aiming to convert the building into a high-end manufacturing facility.
“That’s the plan,” said one industry broker who claimed Cytyc is simultaneously negotiating with city officials to craft a financial package prior to signing off on the Simarano Drive lease. While details remained sketchy as of Banker & Tradesman’s press deadline late last week, sources said the pact would involve some sort of tax increment financing, an arrangement which typically encourages private investment in a property or area in return for deferring tax payments stemming from the improvements. A final agreement could be in place as early as this week, sources contended.
Marlborough has been adept at striking TIFs to attract businesses in recent years, perhaps most notably in luring 3Com Corp. to construct the 125-acre campus property that now serves as Cytyc’s headquarters. Ironically, that deal in the late 1990s had to be recast recently when the technology crash at the start of this decade resulted in 3Com retrenching its employment commitment and ultimately selling the 532,000-square-foot complex to BPG Ltd. two years ago for $58 million. The new ownership then repositioned the property into The Campus at Marlborough, signing 3Com to a smaller lease and peddling the remainder of the space to firms such as Cytyc. That company inked a 15-year, 215,000-square-foot lease at the property in early 2004.
‘We’ve Always Believed’
Given its long-term commitment to the community, Cytyc’s lease at 445 Simarano Drive would offer “real efficiencies” for the company, said one industry observer. Sources estimated that the firm is prepared to invest upwards of $10 million of its own capital to develop a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at 445 Simarano Drive, accenting another level of tenant improvement money from the landlord. It is unclear how much Ram would contribute to the anticipated upgrades or how many jobs would be generated at the property, but one source insisted it would be “a great day” for the community if the lease is consummated.
A Cytyc spokeswoman contacted late last week declined comment on the situation, citing a lack of company officials available due to the Fourth of July holiday week. Representatives for the building owners also were unable to discuss the status, with Cushman & Wakefield of Massachusetts Executive Director James Thomson declining to identify prospects or say whether any deal is in the works. Ram acquired the building from Nordic Properties in 2004 for $6.6 million. Efforts to contact city of Marlborough officials also were unsuccessful
Among those familiar with 445 Simarano Drive is Scott R. Hughes, president of Framingham-based New Dover Assoc., whose real estate services firm brought Ram to the building initially and then helped the landlord lease 30,000 square feet to the property’s other tenant, Cascade Promotion Corp. That tenant recently moved into the building.
While unfamiliar with the Cytyc negotiations, Hughes said he always felt a repositioning of the one-time bakery distribution center ultimately would pay off, especially given the building’s proximity adjacent to Exit 23C, a new interchange providing immediate access to Interstate 495.
“We’ve always believed in that location,” said Hughes, who praised a series of physical improvements made since Ram’s purchase that have further attracted tenant interest. “It really looks fantastic now,” said Hughes. The condition is perhaps even more impressive given that Ram had to recover following two fires at the building following its acquisition, including a blaze last year that caused extensive damage and temporarily impeded delivery of the space to the market.
Now that all of the physical issues have been finally resolved, Ram is concentrating on getting the space committed. Founded in the mid-1980s with a focus on women’s health care and cancer-screening products, Cytyc had performed manufacturing functions in Marlborough until going public in 1996. The firm soon after departed for Boxboro to accommodate its growth, remaining there until the deal with BPG Ltd. was struck.
