Bids are due late next month for the campus, and Motorola is looking to close by the end of the year, says Jones Lang LaSalle managing director Guy Ponticiello. "Certainly an end-user in a high-tech manufacturing field could be an ideal buyer, but there are also a lot of possibilities for investors as well as buyers with alternative uses in mind," Ponticiello says. "We plan to cast a very wide net in marketing the property, and expect to see a variety of bids in the coming weeks."
Although he considers high-tech manufacturing to be the property's highest and best use, Ponticiello adds residential redevelopment is a leading alternative. A local developer had proposed a $10-million water park, and retail redevelopment also has been mentioned. "Everything is open, and possible," Ponticiello tells GlobeSt.com.
The property includes a five-story, 407,347-sf office building; a two-story, 619,590-sf industrial building; a 355,315-sf distribution building; and 165,665-sf building that includes a cafeteria, training center, auditorium, child care centers and fitness center.
Built in 1997, Motorola announced plans to shutter its Harvard facility, built with the help of a state incentive package, in 2001. It had employed as many as 5,000 there, and began layoffs after announcing the closing.
The market value of the campus is $32.2 million, according to its most recent property tax assessment. That is down from $63 million in 2002, according to tax records. However, Ponticiello suggests building a similar facility would cost $300 million, or $200 per sf.
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