A Marlborough-based real estate development firm has purchased a large office building for $21.57 million.
Deed records indicate that FD ORD Investment LLC, an affiliate of Ferris Development, bought the former University of Phoenix building in Westborough on Feb. 21 from TR Westborough Corp., an affiliate of Lincoln Property Co., a national real estate services firm with an office in Boston.
Roughly half of the 296,300-square-foot building at 1 Research Dr. is vacant, according to David Ferris, founder and CEO of Ferris Development. But he was able to buy the facility at a steep discount; Lincoln had purchased the building in October 2005 for $55.5 million.
“It’s a wonderful example of a Class A office building in the heart of MetroWest,” Ferris said.
Current tenants include Consumer United and MetLife, Ferris said. He expects to fill a third of the 143,000-square-feet of vacant space within the next six months, with skyrocketing rents in Boston making MetroWest sites more attractive.
Ferris said he’s willing to rent the remaining space in blocks of 5,000 to 30,000 square feet at rents of $18 per square foot. He said previous ownership struggled to fill the building due to insisting on unrealistically high rents of $30 per square foot.
Ferris is planning to spend several million dollars to improve the lobby and bathrooms, he said. The building already has a cafeteria and caterer, as well as a fitness center and a 150-seat auditorium.
