VinCo Aims to Breathe Life Into Dragon Court

WOBURN, MA-Vincent O’Neill says he has not only learned to look inside and outside of boxes when mulling commercial real estate prospects, but “around” them as well, a philosophy that put him on the roof of 78 Dragon Court last spring espying the surroundings. “It’s a quick, simple way to judge a building,” insists the founder of VinCo Properties, crediting brotherly advice from prolific Philadelphia developer Brian O’Neill for making the four-story ascent.

The 360-degree vista that has matriculated to VinCo’s leasing campaign for 75,000 sf of office space begins with Interstate 93 flanking 78 Dragon Court’s backyard and an on-ramp to that highway a few blocks north. Adjacent to the ramp is a new commuter train stop connecting to Boston, Lowell and Portland, ME, while a gauntlet of retail, restaurants and divergent hotel options runs southward to the critical juncture of Interstates 93 and 95.

“You can’t beat the amenities in Woburn,” insists O’Neill, perhaps one reason the city 10 miles north of Boston is staging a resurgence after being hit hard by the recession that gripped the Bay State beginning in 2001. “It has become one of the most consistent, steadily recovering markets in Greater Boston,” says Richards Barry Joyce & Partners Research Director Brendan Carroll, who puts Woburn’s vacancy at 13.6% and says the market of 3.5 million sf has registered positive absorption for seven straight quarters. The vacancy is down sharply from the peak of 40.5% in mid-2003, he notes. “That’s a dramatic change by any measure,” Carroll says.