Marlborough Conference Center Lies Vacant
Finding a new use for former Verizon property proves difficult
The site of the former Conference Center at Marlborough at 280 Locke Drive, right off I-495, features more than 250 hotel rooms, 500 parking spaces, a variety of conference and meeting rooms and an indoor pool and full gym, all on 25 leafy, forested acres.
To be sure, the site has a lot of exclusive amenities. In the end, that may be its biggest downfall.
The 237,000-square-foot former hotel and conference center was sold by Verizon to GHP Office Realty of White Plains, N.Y., last May for approximately $13.8 million, according to land records, as part of a large portfolio sale by Verizon. City officials said the facility has been shuttered since July.
Filled With Potential
Efforts to flip the property have been ongoing since the fall, but have so far met with limited success, largely due to the highly specialized nature of the property and the amount of work that would have to be done to re-make it into more traditional office space, said Douglas Jacoby, managing director of Boston-based Newmark Knight Frank of Massachusetts, brokers for the property.
"If someone was looking to convert the hotel rooms into offices, they would have to do substantial renovation, they would have to tear out the space and start new," Jacoby said. "They might have to chop off an office wing they won't use, or fill in the pool. The person or group that ultimately gets in there is going to have to wear a creative hat."
Rather than substantially rework the existing property, Jacoby said an ideal tenant might be one that can find use for the many amenities, such as an educational institution or a group that might be interested in re-opening the facility as a conference center.
To that end, Jacoby said that Framingham State College has looked at the facility as a means of adding dormitory space without expanding on its already overcrowded Framingham campus. The school's finance committee was expected to discuss expansion options, including the Marlborough site, this week.
City officials have mixed feelings about the facility being used by an educational institution.
On the one hand, they would like to see the facility back in productive use, and having students, and their ready cash, in the city would be a boon for local businesses. But educational facilities are tax exempt, and the city could use the property tax revenue, said John Riordan, executive director of Marlborough 2010, a city planning and advocacy organization.
"The city would very much like to see a valuable, attractive facility there, and we would like to see it on the tax rolls," Riordan said. "If Framingham State comes in, it comes with a downside. We'd lose a multimillion dollar facility off the rolls as a tax exempt entity. It would be a lot easier if it stays in commercial use, and stays right on the rolls."
Echoing Jacoby, Riordan said the highly specialized nature of the site makes it difficult to market. He also said that the asking price for the property may be too steep.
Prime Spot
Jacoby declined to name a firm price for the property, saying only that interested parties should come with a "reasonable" offer, and expect to work from there. He did say that any selling price would be "significantly" more than the $13.8 million listed as the price paid for the property.
"At the end of the day, the location is great, it's right off 495, and it's a good piece of land," Jacoby said. "It's not just a piece of dirt. A lot of the improvements hold substantial value."
Jacoby said that building a comparable amount of new office space on as much land, and in such close proximity to I-495, would cost a developer well over $30 million.
Both Jacoby and Riordan were skeptical of the potential of the site being reopened as a conference facility.
Formerly operated by Aramark, the site did good business with Verizon for corporate training sessions and retreats, but only broke even on that business because Verizon owned the property, Jacoby said.
He was unsure if outside business was enough to make up for the times when Verizon was not using the property.
Riordan cited increased competition from similar centers around Route 128 as a likely reason for the conference center's failing.
He also said that the way it was marketed precluded it from being the type of place that travelers on I-495 would pull off and spend the night at.
Nevertheless, Jacoby said a lot of parties have shown interest in the site.
"It's just a matter of putting together something that makes sense and provides a surety of closing.
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