Bill Manley

Title: CEO, Calare Properties
Age: 48
Experience: 26 years

Bill Manley started out in the real estate business as an appraiser before founding his own company, New England Commercial Realty Advisors, in 1991. The firm branched out into contract work for cellular companies on their siting and acquisitions for tower sites. Manley’s expertise in telecommunications landed him a job as head of real estate for Marlborough-based REON Broadband, a competitive local exchange carrier, which was acquired by Conversent Communications in 2002. Manley went on to found Hudson-based Calare Properties, which has organized five private equity funds and acquired $650 million in industrial properties.

Q: Who’s investing in industrial properties through Calare?

A: We have investors that range from someone who is writing a $50,000 check as part of their retirement account all the way up to a $90-billion hedge fund. We run the gamut. We have IRA accounts, we have all sorts of investors in our fund and in our separate deals.

Q: What are the advantages of investing in industrial properties?

A: We have a hierarchy of uses in real estate. Your lowest use is a vacant lot or a parking lot. Maybe your highest use is a high-end downtown hotel. We think industrial is pretty close to the bottom and because of that, it’s a pretty low-risk alternative. We think your risk-reward is higher in industrial than it is with other types, say suburban apartments or suburban office.

Q: What sort of interest rates are typical in the current market?

A: We don’t like to use high leverage. Our leverage tends to be 60 percent or lower, loan-to-value. Many properties we actually buy all-cash and don’t finance them. As far as rates, we’ve seen a lot of attractive rates, anywhere from 3.5 to 6 percent.

Q: According to a Transwestern RBJ report released this week, vacancies dropped in all categories of Greater Boston industrial properties in the fourth quarter. What’s driving the market rebound?

A: There’s been a lack of new construction for many years. There’s not a lot of speculative development happening. Part of that is there’s not a lot of industrial land left inside 495. There’s some, but when most people are doing their permitting, they’re looking at residential subdivisions or higher uses. The existing inventory of industrial is poised to become potentially higher and better uses.

Q: What repositioning opportunities are you looking at?

A: We just did a project where we purchased 200,000 square feet of vacant industrial property at 100 Clinton St. in Framingham and we’re repositioning it with retail and creative office space. We’ve signed 67,000 square feet with Jack’s Abby Brewery. They’re putting in a new brewery and a brewpub and will vend their product from a company store. We’re negotiating on another 20,000 square feet right now.