Officials at Nordic Properties, a Burlington-based real estate investment company, say they anticipate closing in early June on 55 Walkers Brook Drive in Reading.
Nordic Properties will soon have a new task to tackle: the TASC building in Reading.
Confirming persistent rumors, officials at the Burlington-based real estate investment company say they anticipate closing in early June on the 185,000-square-foot property, which is located just off Route 128 at 55 Walkers Brook Drive. The asset is dominated by a 6-story, 145,000-square-foot structure erected in the mid-1980s on behalf of its erstwhile tenant, The Analytic Sciences Corp. (TASC). A smaller, 3-story building also is included, as is a tiny structure likely to be demolished to expand parking.
The pending sale marks the latest machination of the immediate commercial real estate landscape following last year’s opening of a large lifestyle retail center across the street from Nordic’s target and a large Stop & Shop slated to be developed on an abutting parcel. While stressing the merits of 55 Walkers Brook Drive as an office address, Nordic Vice President Todd Fremont-Smith acknowledged that a retail play is also part of the company’s strategy.
“We’re excited,” Fremont-Smith said of the opportunity. “We think we’re going to do well with it.” Preliminary plans foresee two retail pads – most likely for restaurants – that would be carved out of the front-right corner at the intersection of Walkers Brook Drive and Newcrossing Road..
One experienced retail developer applauding Nordic’s concept is Mark Dickinson, whose Quincy-based Dickinson Development Corp. is not only behind the Stop & Shop project, but also was responsible for creating the lifestyle center across the street, known as Walkers Brook Crossing. A dominating 33-acre retail conglomeration grafted atop a reclaimed landfill, the complex is anchored by a Home Depot and 400,000-square-foot Jordan’s Furniture, which includes the usual side attractions such as an IMAX theater. Several other national stores also are located there, as well as a Bear Rock Cafe, Macaroni Bar & Grill and Chili’s restaurant.
Dickinson said he also mulled buying 55 Walker’s Brook Drive, but ultimately concluded he “couldn’t make the numbers work” as deftly as Nordic appears to have with an approach of catering to high-end office users. The building became vacant for the first time following the lease expiration of tenant Northrop Grumman. The lone tenant since acquiring TASC more than a decade ago, the defense contractor earlier this year consolidated its operations at Brickstone Square in Andover. Former TASC Chairman Harry Silverman has owned 55 Walkers Brook Drive since 1997.
“It’s a great building,” said Dickinson, who also seconded Nordic’s outlook on the retail potential. “That’s an excellent location for restaurants,” he said, especially once a few office leases are signed. “That will provide a lot of bodies there.”
‘Feeling Pretty Good’
Fremont-Smith, meanwhile, praised Dickinson for putting Walkers Brook Drive on the map, working with state and local officials to cap the massive, aging landfill, widen the roadway and institute other infrastructure improvements to facilitate a retail behemoth that today lures consumers from afar. The Jordan’s Furniture location alone draws shoppers from a 37-mile radius, he said. “That whole interchange has literally lit up in the past year,” he said. “It really has become a mixed-use destination.”
Nordic has retained Trammell Crow Co. to help bring office occupants to the property. The team, led by Trammell Crow principals Michael Dalton and Brian Hines, has been assisting in the sale of the building on behalf of Silverman for a price that those involved decline to identify. Sources put the sales figure in the $100 per-square-foot range, or around $18.5 million. While Fremont-Smith would not provide an exact amount, he placed it at slightly less than that mark, explaining the firm deems it good value given the property’s quality and other attributes, including a prime location just off Route 128 and a few miles from the Interstate 93 interchange.
“We’re feeling pretty good on a price-per-pound basis,” he said, especially in light of significant spikes in materials costs that would make replacement run closer to $200 per square foot. Perhaps even more encouraging is the condition of the 20-year-old property, he said, describing the structure as being “built to last for a defense contractor.”
“It really has withstood the test of time,” he said, while Nordic also will undertake a significant capital campaign to further attract tenants. Bolstered by the existing attributes, including “super” views of nearby Lake Quannapowitt and the surrounding landscape, the work should produce a unique Class A opportunity that will feature finishes and amenities rivaling the best, promised Fremont-Smith. “It will be of downtown office quality,” he said, albeit sporting one major advantage to a Financial District office: generous parking of 3.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet leased.
Nordic sister company Nordblom Development will renovate the space in the main building and in the second-largest structure, which has about 30,000 square feet. Another selling point will be the amount of space available, said Fremont-Smith, indicating it represents a rarely found block of contiguous space of at least 80,000 square feet. “We really will be the market leader,” he said. “There is nothing comparable around us.” The space is also intriguing in that is has never been available to the general public, he noted, with TASC and then Northrop Grumman the only previous occupants. Even brokers in the area are generally unfamiliar with the inside of the setback complex, said Fremont-Smith, partly due to the secrecy requirements of its past occupants.
As for Dickinson Development’s latest venture, the company is in the process of meeting Reading planning boards and community members, said Dickinson, but the current goal is to break ground on the Stop & Shop by July and complete the center in about a year.
