Barely two months after buying a 300,000-sf industrial property in the northern Massachusetts community, Nordic has doubled that investment by selling the property outright to Nortel Networks. Nordic acquired the building this spring for $16.1 million before trading it to the Canadian-based telecommunications concern for an astounding $33.5 million.

"That's incredible," one Boston investment specialist said when informed of the deal. "I guess they really had the stars lined up on that one."

The broker, who requested anonymity, says he had another buyer lined up to acquire the property, but was slightly outbid by Nordic. Such a sizeable windfall is unusual in the industry, the broker notes, adding that it typically requires someone who needs the space badly.