Kemp, a broker with the Seattle office of The Staubach Co., tells GlobeSt, "When we initially set out about a year ago, it was obviously a much stronger market. Back then an empty, specialized building was perceived as a huge opportunity for buyers."
When first putting the campus at 17425 NE Union Hill Rd. on the selling block, Boston Scientific held the belief potential buyers for the vacant property would be numerous. Kemp recounts, "We expected that by the time we got to our closed-bid deadline we would have three or four strong offers. But the market softened drastically during that time, and the offers we received were below our targeted price."
The broker quips, "It went from a huge opportunity to just two empty buildings." Keeping tempo with the market, Kemp says the strategy has changed. The international medical-device manufacturing company (like scores of property owners) hopes for a tenant to enhance investment the value.
If no tenant surfaces, Kemp says the Natick, Boston-based company will simply wait for a stronger market. "Boston Scientific is not in a position where they need to act quickly. It is very strong financially."
If a tenant stepped to the table now? Kemp says rent for Building A's 69,000 of predominantly office space would run in "the high teens, triple-net." The second structure on the 8.44-acre site, Building B, mixes about 94,000 sf of clean-room manufacturing space with office and distribution facilities.
"The greatest interest has been from our office users," says Kemp, "So, we're trying to direct them to building A and hold the clean-room space in B for a user with a need for that type of space as the existing improvements are of considerable value."
The current asking price for the Tech Center in its empty state: "It would probably take somewhere around $30 million for Boston Scientific to sell," answers Kemp.
"We have a couple interested buyers we're corresponding with on a regular basis," the broker offers, adding, "It's a limited pool of buyers, so we know who they are." The problems with offers being delivered he explains is that most require either a long due-diligence period or several months to closing to allow time to secure a tenant.
The property was originally developed in 1988 by the late Basil Vyzis as offices for Heart Technologies—subsequently acquired by Boston Scientific. With numerous sites across the U.S. and Europe, Boston Scientific the more prudent course was to close Redmond and consolidate its operations elsewhere.
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