WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA-This south suburban Boston community has been selected by Federal Express as the new home for a regional distribution center, as the global delivery firm will lease some 90,000 sf of industrial space at One United Dr. The relocation from neighboring Brockton represents a doubling in size for the company's special FedEx Ground operation.

"We have signed a top-tier tenant in FedEx Ground, which saw the significant benefits of locating to this facility," says Mohsin Amiji, CEO of the Liberty Cos. Amiji's Boston-based real estate investment firm acquired the 315,000-sf One United Dr. in March 2006 for $11.9 million, and has set about repositioning it as a multi-tenanted complex. One United Dr. had been occupied for several years by United Liquors before that firm's relocation.

Prior to the FedEx pact, SWB New England leased 80,000 sf at the property, leaving about 145,000 sf to be filled. Richards Barry Joyce & Partners is exclusive leasing agent for One United Dr., and brokers John Lashar, Paul Leone and Cal Hudak represented Liberty in the FedEx agreement. Agents for the tenant were Tom Byrd and Joe Pelle of Fischer & Co.

In unveiling the latest transaction, Amiji expressed confidence that the vacancy at One United Dr. will continue to decrease, citing the quality of the property, its leasing team and a centralized location that offers access to most major highways connecting to points in New England and the northeast. West Bridgewater is one of several South Shore communities that have become popular for distribution and warehouse operations, with RBJ estimating that the Interstate 495 submarket where West Bridgewater is situated has 16.2 million sf of industrial product. Of that, about 16.1% was vacant entering the third quarter, RBJ says in its mid-year indSTATus survey of regional market conditions.

The Liberty Cos. pursues a variety of product types for a portfolio focused on New England. Currently, the firm has more than five million sf of industrial, manufacturing, office and retail assets under management, and continues to look for "outside-the-box" opportunities, says Amiji.