Regions Northeast | Boston
Campanelli Acquires 90-Acre Site in Boston Suburb
Dec 13, 2007
By: Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

Campanelli Cos., a New England-based full-service commercial real estate development company, has acquired a 90-acre site at the TPC-Boston Golf Course in Norton, Mass., that already has permits for a hotel and up to 600,000 square feet of office space.

“They want to immediately make something happen,” Jack Kerrigan (pictured), executive vice president of Grubb & Ellis’ Boston office, told CPN today. Kerrigan and his colleague, vice president Stephen Cook, represented the seller, The Park at Great Woods Corp.

The price was not made public and Kerrigan declined to release it. He said the site had been marketed for about a year and there was considerable interest from companies similar to Campanelli. It was one of the largest land sales south of Interstate 495 this year. The golf course will retain about 110 acres.

“We really didn’t have out of state players,” he said, describing the top bidders as Boston-area developers and commercial investment firms that were privately held.

“Campanelli was the most qualified buyer because they have a track record of successfully developing over 10 million square feet in this market and have studied this particular site for seven years,” he said.

Kerrigan noted that Campanelli previously owned the former Polaroid warehouse site next to the golf course for several years so the company was familiar with the property.

Campanelli said the site could be used for a variety of purposes, including hotel, office, retail, biotech and high-tech. Kerrigan said if the company wanted to develop retail there it would have to get a special permit. “But there is demand,” he added.

“Being right next to a world-class golf venue, this site offers a unique development opportunity,” Robert DeMarco, a Campanelli partner, stated in a release. “Not only will it be attractive to companies looking to expand or relocate in new facilities, but it also offers a prime location for a transformative destination development that capitalizes on TPC-Boston’s status and allure. We look forward to bringing a premier development to this location.”

Located at the intersection of Arnold Palmer Boulevard and Route 140, the site is permitted for 1 million square feet of office and hotel space. It already has permits for gas, water and sewer, which is key to fast-tracking development, Kerrigan noted.

Kerrigan said the South Shore market is about 22 miles from Providence and 35 miles from downtown Boston. He said the labor pool could draw from Providence and Cape Cod as well as Boston. Housing prices are more affordable in the region and the prices for office space would be much lower than Boston, where, he noted, “Rents are truly skyrocketing and truly spiking.”

While there are some small commercial office parks in Norton, Kerrigan said it is not as built up as areas like Mansfield.

Campanelli has developed 10 business parks in Massachusetts and over 16 million square feet of commercial real estate property in New England and the Eastern Seaboard. The company, established in 1947, specializes in land development, design and build, redevelopment and value-added acquisitions.   
         

 
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