MICHAEL FRISOLI
‘A great solution’
LTX Corp. has found a new home, committing to 56,000 square feet at 825 University Ave. in Norwood. The agreement was inked after the semiconductor testing company was able to terminate a lease at 50 Rosemont Road in nearby Westwood, where it occupies all 169,000 square feet.
“This was a great solution for LTX,” Richards Barry Joyce & Partners principal Michael Frisoli said last week after he and RBJ associate Cal Hudak negotiated both the termination and new lease on behalf of the tenant. The two were initially retained to sublease unneeded space at 50 Rosemont Road for LTX, but the idea was eventually formulated to relocate the company into 825 University Ave., which is owned by the same partnership of Commonfund Realty and Cabot, Cabot & Forbes.
Landlords often would be loathe to accept such a downsizing, particularly having a deal in place running late into 2009, but Frisoli explained that the scenario worked for all involved because LTX’s current headquarters is in the heart of a planned redevelopment of Westwood’s University Avenue area by Commonfund and CC&F. The plan calls for shifting the landscape there from commercial and industrial buildings into a swath of residential and retail uses, with one source maintaining that 50 Rosemont Road will be razed upon the tenant’s departure this summer. Terms of the Norwood lease were not released, but one source said it is a 10-year agreement with per-square-foot rents in the mid-teens.
Besides fitting into a more appropriate facility, enjoying a substantial savings in rent and being close enough to accommodate existing employees, LTX will also be relocating into newly renovated space following an extensive build-out now under way, noted Frisoli.
“It is going to be a world-class, state-of-the-art headquarters,” he said.
‘A Lot of Reasons’
Lincoln Property Co. Senior Vice President Austin Smith, who represented the landlord in the 825 University Ave. deal, estimated that the build-out will be approximately 75 percent to 80 percent office and the remainder manufacturing space for LTX’s testing requirements. A fresh facade and signage will be provided to give the tenant a solid corporate image, said Smith, while the renovation will include new windows for the single-story structure. Completed in 1981, 825 University Ave. was once the home of Jet Spray Inc. until CC&F and the Commonfund acquired it in 2003 for $10.7 million.
The LTX pact will bring 825 University Ave. to full occupancy, according to Smith, who represented the owners last year in leasing the other piece of the 165,000-square-foot property to Instron Corp. Smith said the building has enjoyed solid tenant interest, partly due to the property’s own qualities, but also feeding off a wave of leasing activity in the Norwood area.
“There are a lot of reasons Norwood makes sense for companies,” Smith said, including a skilled labor force, quick access to Route 128 and a reverse commute on that oft-clogged beltway. The nearby Upland Woods business park by the Campanelli Cos. of Braintree also has been well received, Smith noted, as evidenced by a 135,000-square-foot lease to Aspect Medical announced earlier this month for the one-time Polaroid Corp. campus. According to year-end 2005 figures by RBJ, the Route 128 South office submarket that includes Norwood has a 15.5 percent vacancy rate.
While the LTX transaction completes the leasing campaign for 825 University Ave., 23 acres of the 49-acre complex is available to accommodate another 250,000 square feet of new construction, and Smith reported an encouraging response among prospects considering a build-to-suit scenario. “It bodes well,” said Smith of the recent activity, citing a pro-business attitude in the community as another plus for getting a project off the ground.
