Shahbazi tells GlobeSt.com that the inquiry was made amid rumors that iconic Massachusetts developer Thomas Flatley was willing to consider bids for his office empire, coupled with a belief that KS Partners could wring income growth from the block of buildings in suburban Boston's South Shore market. "We see great potential there," explains Shahbazi, enough to pay about $124 per sf. Rents can be raised, Shahbazi maintains, because Flatley's low basis from long-term ownership reduced the need to push rates. That does not mean, he stresses, that the assets are in bad shape physically. "The bones of the buildings are fine," he says, praising Flatley as "a great landlord" known for keeping ahead on maintenance. Cosmetic changes such as improved landscaping will be the biggest investment, according to Shahbazi, and KS Partners received an additional $7 million in financing to pay for those upgrades and tenant fit out capital.

As detailed last month in a GlobeSt.com article first reporting the agreement, the Flatley portfolio encompasses three pieces, including the two-building Mark 128 Office Park, totaling 92,000 sf in 140 and 150 Wood Road; and 225,000-sf in four buildings at the Forbes Business Center on Forbes Rd. The remaining block is four buildings and just over 100,000 sf in the Blue Hills Commerce Center on Brooks Dr. Mostly constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, the structures are older than competing product but should respond to the KS Partners value-add platform, predicts Shahbazi, also citing the accessibility and visibility of the buildings as other reasons for confidence in the deal.

Besides scoring the rents to current market levels, KS Partners hopes to increase income by adding new space as warranted, including a "minor retail" element planned at the Forbes Business Park. Properties there have benefited from recent traffic changes that increase vehicular traffic for both commuters and residents, says Shahbazi, whose early years in real estate focused on retail.