Breyers Factory Closure Opens Options For Mass Pike Site
At the beginning of April, the Breyers Ice Cream factory in Framingham, which has a clear frontage view of the Massachusetts Turnpike, closed its doors.
Since 1964 Breyers, which is owned by European-based Unilever, has produced ice cream at the 120,000-square-foot Framingham plant, employing about 174 workers.
But on April 1 the company executed on a decision it announced more than a year earlier: The plant would close and production operations would shift to the company's Covington, Tenn., site.
The move now leaves the question: What do you do with an old ice cream factory?
Matt Giffune, an assistant vice president for Boston-based commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, said it's unlikely another ice cream company will be moving onto the property. But the location's high visibility directly before exit 13 of the Mass Pike makes it a prime location for a business that may be looking to put a stake in the ground in one of MetroWest's strongest commercial real estate areas.
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Dean Mastrojohn, a spokesperson for Unilever, said it's premature for the company to discuss possible reuse options for the site.
But Giffune said it's only logical to assume that the maximum value of the site involves something other than an ice cream factory.
"For that type of location and visibility, it might be worth a little bit of a premium, given its proximity to the Mass Pike," Giffune said.
Traditionally the exit 12 and 13 commercial real estate market in Framingham and Natick has outperformed the broader region, Giffune said, a positive sign for the property.
"The area seems somewhat insulated from the rest of the 495 corridor," Giffune said.
Still, a sluggish market could mean that any development may not happen immediately, Giffune suggested.
When there are large niche-manufacturing facilities that are vacated, like this factory, Giffune said, it's really up to the owner to decide what to do with the property.
Given this site's prime location, he said, it could be a good spot for an office park development.
In terms of how the overall market is doing, JLL recently released its first-quarter market report.
The 495/Mass Pike region, which would include Framingham and Natick, has a 26.9-percent vacancy rate, by JLL's estimate, with rental asking prices averaging $18.48 per square foot.
The 495/North market, meanwhile, has a 24-percent vacancy rate with asking rates at $16.71 per square foot and the 495/South region has a 28.6-percent vacancy rate with an $18.73-per-square-foot asking price.
Those compare to an overall suburban Boston 22.9-percent vacancy rate with asking prices at $20.88 per square foot to rent, according to JLL.
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