New Owners of Marlborough HP Site Are Optimistic
When Fidelity Investments dropped the bombshell news earlier this year that its Marlborough campus would be closing, leaving hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space empty, there was collective unease about the region’s commercial real estate market.
But Joseph Zink didn’t have that feeling.
Zink is president of Atlantic Management, a real estate investment firm based in Framingham that has recently closed a $9 million deal to purchase the former Hewlett-Packard manufacturing plant, which sits directly adjacent to the Fidelity site.
Combined, the HP and Fidelity sites make up hundreds of acres of vacant or soon-to-be-vacant land, and create a big hole in the MetroWest real estate market.
Zink’s purchase of the HP site, however, appears to have brought signs of life to the area. And commercial real estate experts and local officials seem to be optimistic about the opportunities.
Market Opportunities
“This is a very nice property that’s got a lot of really good things going for it,” said Jim Bartholomew, an assistant vice president with R.W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc., in Wayland, and a commercial real estate broker in the MetroWest region who is not involved specifically with the HP and Fidelity sites.
While the HP site is a massive, 110-acre property with 750,000 square feet of vacant buildings, Bartholomew said it has unique features that make it attractive. There are just not that many sites in the region that offer the multitude of possibilities that come with the HP site, he said.
The former manufacturing buildings, Zink and Bartholomew said, would likely have to be torn down to allow for new construction. But, if that’s done, then pretty much anything could be rebuilt there. Plus, the site sits just off Route 495, has two sources of power feeding into it and utility infrastructure in place.
On its face, a mixed-use site with commercial and residential development seems to make a lot of sense, Bartholomew said.
Zink is not limiting his options. He said the site could host anything from corporate office space to multifamily housing, to a hotel, hospital or retail shopping plaza.
“It’s really market-driven,” Zink said.
Zink is confident about the “tremendous potential” of the site. But he tempered expectations, saying that even with all of the positive attributes, development plans can take a long time to become finalized.
Atlantic Management closed on the purchase of the HP site Aug. 31. The firm owns dozens of commercial real estate properties across Central and Eastern Massachusetts, including investments in Natick, Framingham and Westborough.
The good news with the HP site, Zink said, is that local and state officials have been supportive thus far.
“Everyone wants this development to happen,” he said.
Gregory Bialecki, the state secretary of housing and economic development, recently visited the site as his office is putting the finishing touches on a year-long study of the region’s top development areas, named the 495/MetroWest Development Compact.
After the tour, Bialecki said the goal of that study is, in part, to put sites like the HP and Fidelity properties in the best position possible to be developed. It’s important for businesses that are looking to relocate or expand to know they can move quickly and predictably on a potential investment, he said. Plus, he said, it’s important to prioritize the region’s development areas so aggressive marketing campaigns can be created and judgments about potential state investments can be considered.
“We’re working with local officials to make sure there are sites available for businesses that want to relocate or expand,” he said.
As for the Fidelity site, next to the HP property, local officials are excited about the possibility of that one too. Fidelity has said it plans to move out of the complex by the end of next year, at which time the site will be vacant.
The two sites each have their own unique qualities, Bartholomew said. The Fidelity site is being used, so once it’s vacated, it would be ready for another tenant to move in almost immediately.
The HP site, conversely, has been vacant for a few years, so it would likely take some upkeep work to move into the site, or for an investor to raze the buildings and construct new ones.
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