Syratech plans to lease back 118,000 sf of office and warehouse space at the property. The building currently has four other tenants and the new owners say the remaining vacant space will be marketed to office users as well as to a mix of traditional warehouse and airfreight tenants.

The East Boston industrial market is approximately 14.4 million sf with vacancy rates in the single digits compared. Vacancy rates for office space in the area are at about 14%. According to a release from Berkeley and Starwood, the warehouse/distribution submarket, which accounts for approximately five million sf of the total with Q3 2003 overall availability of less than 5%, has maintained steady rents over the last few years, despite the overall market downturn.

Young K. Park, president of Berkeley Investments Inc., notes that this acquisition is consistent with the firm's strategy to purchase "underutilized" corporate real estate assets. "This transaction represents an opportunity for current cash flow with value added potential through repositioning and leasing, an attractive combination in an uncertain market," he says.