A mixed-use development including nearly 800 multifamily units and retail space is planned by Lupoli Cos. at a vacant 42-acre office park in Littleton. Image courtesy of Lupoli Cos.

Tech titans including Intel, CISCO Systems, HP and IBM once set the pace for the commercial real estate market along Interstate 495, the final ring of Boston suburban development. 

After years of stagnant leasing activity and sluggish demand, changes of ownership for three office parks spanning 541 acres are prompting large-scale redevelopments. The new owners have distinctly different business plans for their new holdings, however, reflecting a diverse range of next-generation uses. 

“The beauty of this market is there’s land to be developed and property to be acquired and repositioned,” said Tyler McGrail, executive managing director at Newmark, which is representing new owner Campanelli’s plans for The Park at Beaver Brook in Boxborough. “We’ve seen activity ranging from corporate headquarters office requirements to life sciences, manufacturing, industrial and R&D.” 

In Littleton, Lupoli Cos. plans to build multifamily housing and retail in the initial phase of a mixed-use project known as King Street Common. And in Hudson, a massive Intel Corp. semiconductor complex could be demolished to make way for a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution warehouse. 

Littleton Favors Housing over Distribution 

According to Newmark research, there are 11 Boston outer suburbs with office vacancy rates above 30 percent. And in towns with limited commercial development, finding replacement uses for underutilized office parks is a fiscal priority. But developers still have to overcome local concerns about negative effects such as truck traffic. 

In Littleton, local sentiment was strongly opposed to a distribution and warehouse option at the former IBM-leased campus, Lupoli Cos. CEO Sal Lupoli said. 

“The office market was dead and they didn’t want a 200,000-square-foot last-mile warehouse with tractors and trailers coming into their town,” he said. “We talked about housing and retail and job creation, and that’s how we created this new idea.” 

Lawrence-based Lupoli Cos. bought the 42-acre Littleton property for $21.15 million in September 2021, and received town meeting approval to rezone it for a mixed-use development the next month. 

The designs are intended to complement the proximity to the town common, with 1- to 3-story retail and residential buildings fronting on King Street. The development will include up to 780 multifamily units and 120,000 square feet of retail, built in phases over a five- to eight-year period, Lupoli said. 

“These abandoned campuses no longer have a place in Massachusetts because they’re just so big and the land is so vast, and Massachusetts has an incredible housing shortage,” he said. 

Groundbreaking of the estimated $175 million first phase is contingent upon receipt of state funding to subsidize a town sewer extension project. The $8 million earmark was part of the state economic development bill which stalled in the waning days of the legislative session this summer. 

The property currently includes two vacant office buildings formerly leased to IBM totaling approximately 550,000 square feet, which have potential to be converted into life science space, Lupoli said. 

Developer Portman Industrial is seeking approval of a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center at the CISCO Systems R&D center in Hudson. Image courtesy of town of Hudson

Hudson Mobilizes Against Distribution Center 

In Hudson, “Stop the Warehouse” signs have sprouted on front lawns as developer Portman Industrial seeks approval for a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center. Atlanta-based Portman is seeking approval for the project, which has not disclosed a tenant, and would generate an estimated 2,236 passenger vehicle and truck trips daily. 

The proposal is a by-right use within an industrial zoning district, Hudson Town Planner Kristina Johnson said. The project is currently under review by the Hudson Planning Board, which held its first hearing on the project on Aug. 31. 

Hudson officials have requested additional information on anticipated full-time job creation, tax revenues and the economic multiplier effect of the development, and hired special legal counsel to advise the town on the review, Johnson said. 

Two former IBM-leased office buildings at 550 King St. in Littleton could be converted into life science space as developer Lupoli Cos. prepares a mixed-use redevelopment including multifamily housing and retail shops. Photo by Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff

New Owner, New Momentum in Boxborough 

The Park at Beaver Brook includes approximately 110 developable acres on a 350-acre site in Boxborough and Harvard. The campus was approved for 1.4 million square feet of commercial space in 2001. 

Although only three buildings were developed in the early 2000s, including one that’s leased to CISCO Systems, the park contains robust utility infrastructure and zoning for a range of uses including office, R&D and data centers. 

After Campanelli and its partner Trigate Capital bought the park from CISCO Systems last year for $10.5 million, it hired Newmark to seek tenants for existing vacancies and potential new build-to-suit projects. 

While industrial and distribution uses aren’t allowed, the new owners are testing the market for office and R&D tenants. Campanelli is currently in permitting before the Boxborough Planning Board for a 64,000-square-foot office/R&D building for an undisclosed tenant. 

Another 200,000-square-foot lease was recently signed at 500 Beaver Brook Road by Intel Corp. as part of its plans to vacate the Hudson property, according to a report by the Community Advocate publication. 

Steve Adams

I-495 submarket properties have benefited from spillover tenant demand from Route 128, while offering discounts of up to 50 percent on office space and 25 to 30 percent for flex, R&D and industrial properties, Newmark’s McGrail said. 

“When Campanelli bought this park, they felt strongly that there was a real market to build these flex/R&D buildings and these high-end uses,” he said.