Lee Partners represented IDEX America, Inc. in their relocation and long-term lease
negotiations for 8,200 sq ft of office and lab space with the new property owner of 187
Ballardvale, Wilmington, Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation. Chris Lawrence with Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and Chris Neelon with Ciminelli Real Estate represented the landlord.
Lee Partners assisted in the renewal and extension of leases within 4 Militia Drive and 5 Militia Drive, Lexington, MA.
At 5 Militia Drive: Mark Murphy Esq., Battle Road Research, and the TAP foundation extended their lease terms.
At 4 Militia Drive: Star Analytical Services relocated to new offices on the top floor.
Communities United, Inc. – a 501 c (3) non-profit organization has recently expanded their administrative office HQ location at 4 Militia Drive, Lexington, MA – and extended their lease commitment to ensure that this location will be their administrative office home-base far into the future. The expanded space is expected to be completed and occupied during the first quarter of 2022.
Communities United Executive Director Terri Natale received Board approval to move forward with this commitment. Commercial real estate broker Michael Hoban with Equity Industrial Partners represented Communities United in the lease transaction; and Bruce Lee with Lee Partners of New England represented the landlord 4 Militia LLC.
About Communities United, Inc.:
Communities United, Inc. – CUI’s mission is to provide high quality education and family services to a diverse population of approximately 300 children: of infant, toddler and preschool age, from eleven unique suburban communities along the Rte. 128 belt. These communities include Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Burlington, Lexington, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley and Woburn.
AllPro Corporation – a nationwide distributor of cleaning supplies has expanded into an additional 10,000 sq ft. of warehouse space at 12 Industrial Drive, Sterling, MA. The company now will be leasing the property as a single-tenant occupying the entire building consisting of a total of 45,000 sq ft. Bruce Lee Managing Director of Lee Partners of New England represented AllPro along with Shirley Smith, Director of National Accounts with the Avocat Group, Tampa, FL. The expansion will take place during the first quarter of 2022.
AllPro Corporation is a B2B cooperative consisting of a network of over 270 independent paint and decorating products dealers throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.
Blue Therapeutics has committed to occupy direct office space at the Waltham Watch Factory at 203 Crescent Street, Waltham – an outstanding location for the company to continue HQ operations. Blue Therapeutics previously subleased space in the building. Bruce Lee, Managing Partner for Lee Partners of New England LLC provided consulting services for Blue Therapeutics and Dan Krysiak, Senior Managing Director with Newmark assisted the Landlord – Watch City Ventures.
Blue Therapeutics is a IND-stage drug discovery and development platform advancing transformative new medicines. Blue’s proprietary receptor-interactomics approach is creating deep insights to deliver superior outcomes for patients.
IDEX Biometrics will relocate its US corporate offices from 287 to 200 Ballardvale Street,
Wilmington, MA during the first quarter of 2022. The new space will provide a more efficient and productive environment for employees within a building that offers multiple new amenities for IDEX.
Commercial brokers involved were Bruce Lee with Lee Partners of New England
representing IDEX, and Brian Tisbert Managing Director with JLL representing the landlord Griffith Properties LLC. Marci Griffith Loeber, Managing Principal, and Donna Pennino, Principal with Griffith Properties LLC also represented the Landlord and wholehearted supported the entire relocation process.
The new office and electronic lab space, leased on a long term basis, will contain U.S. HQ
corporate offices, administrative support staff, and a state-of-the art engineering laboratory. IDEX Biometrics is pioneering the advancement of biometric technology that will provide secure, convenient, and unique biometric authentication solutions for credit card transactions in the near-term future around the world.
The IDEX relocation internal team that reviewed multiple alternative sites over the past year was guided in a cooperative internal effort led by Office Manager Kristen Ryan, CFO Jamie Simms, and CEO Vince Graziani, supported by the entire senior engineering management group.
IDEX is a public company registered (IDBA) on the NASDEX exchange.
Office Building Sale
5 Militia Drive, Lexington, MA
$4,125,000
Bruce Lee, Managing Partner of Lee Partners of New England, represented both the buyer and seller in a sale of this 22,720 sq ft office building in downtown Lexington, MA. on June 30, 2021.
The buyer was 5 Militia Drive LLC Managing partner Matthew Curtis; and the seller was Brett Douglass, Trustee of the 5 Militia Drive Trust.
The property, a three level office building on 1.5 acres, is located along with 4 other similar
offices buildings on Militia Drive and it is a short walk to the Lexington Common where the first battle of the Revolutionary war between the United States and England was fought in 1770’s.
The office building was built by Arthur and Jewell Douglass during the 1970’s and this is the first time that it has been sold to another owner.
Matthew Curtis, the new owner, was very excited to purchase this property, especially since he purchased the adjacent office property 4 Militia Drive during 2020. He feels that there are operational efficiencies having both adjacent office buildings within his growing list of commercial properties.
Bruce Lee, with Lee Partners offered that 5 Militia Drive is a very well maintained property that the Douglass family kept in excellent condition including recently upgraded infrastructure components. The two-story grand front-entranceway was originally commissioned and advocated by Jewel Douglass.
Lee commented, “This entranceway provides a first-class professional presence for the entire building – and when combined with the well-cared for and maintained landscaping, the overall first impression when visiting the property is quite impressive.”
For additional information on this property sale Bruce Lee can be reached at: Bruce@leepartners.com
Bruce Lee, Managing Director of Lee Partners of New England, represented AllPro Corporation in their negotiations to lease a new 35,000 sq ft distributions facility at 12 Industrial Drive, Sterling, MA. Bruce teamed up with Shirley Smith, Director of National Accounts with the Avocat Group, Tampa, FL in their joint representation of AllPro. David Stubblebine, President, and James Stubblebine, Vice President with The Stubblebine Company represented the property owner GFI Partners in the long-term 8 year lease transaction. AllPro anticipates moving into this new facility during June 2021.
AllPro Corporation is a B2B cooperative consisting of a network of over 270 independent paint and decorating products dealers throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.
Bruce Lee of Lee Partners of New England, working closely with senior management ofBlue Therapeutics, helped to identify, negotiate, and secure their new HQ office space in Waltham at the Waltham Watch Factory office complex. The transition from Cambridge, MA was completed in January. The search process during the 2020 pandemic was challenging but ultimately successful. Blue Therapeutics is an expanding company with bright prospects for its future. The space at the Waltham Watch Factory fit the need to have office space with “character” having high ceilings, brick walls, plenty of exterior light and a very “open feel” for the new office work environment. Representing the sublandlord in the transaction was Scott Panneton of Lee & Associates located in Boston, MA.
My commercial property tour in Waltham this week revealed two separate Class A office
building complexes – both with blockaded parking areas! This is the first time I have seen
anything like this in this market area. First we have had employee vacant desks and empty
building parking lots – and now parking lots are being barricaded! This is most likely for security reasons because tenants are not using the lots for employee parking. This highlights how the Pandemic has changed the dynamics and economics of the use of office space and the properties associated with tenants not occupying buildings. On another recent tour of the CrossPoint towers at the intersection of Rt. 3 and Rt 495 – where the one million plus square feet of office space is barely occupied and the parking lot is mostly vacant – the property manager mentioned one bright spot from his perspective – the buildings are using a lot less electricity and this is a big savings on the building’s operational expenses!
Soon these affects from an unforeseen pandemic will pass – and we will have increased office building occupancy and full parking lots again – but for now we need to continue to abide by healthcare professional safety recommendations, continue to work hard at our home offices, and prepare for a return to our corporate offices where we can interact with fellow employees in-person again and continue to collaborate, innovate, and provides services and products for the future as we have done in the past.
For Tenant office space decisions makers now is the time to negotiate for office space and lease terms for the future – because when the desks are re-occupied and the parking lots are not barricaded and full again, it will be much more difficult to lease cost effective office space as there will be fewer options and it will be more expensive. Now is a time for action!
