Campanelli, CFRI Unveil Suburban Rehab Plan

WOBURN, MA-After previously divesting its commercial real estate holdings in suburban Boston’s northern region, Campanelli Cos. of Braintree has elected to return by acquiring 8 Presidential Way for $11.5 million in partnership with Commonfund Real Estate Investments. The 104,000-sf building will be upgraded to modern office space and renamed the Presidential Woods Corporate Center.

“It’s a great property,” Campanelli director of leasing Peter Brown tells GlobeSt.com. The building abuts Woburn’s MetroNorth Corporate Center, a mixed-use project championed by National Development in the late 1990s. Neighbors include American Tower Corp., Analog Devices, Arqule, Paychex and Raytheon Corp. The latter firm is the major tenant at MetroNorth, occupying 435,000 sf at 225 and 235 Presidential Way. MetroNorth was forged from the former Superfund site made famous in the movie “A Civil Action,” and has won accolades for restoration of the one-time environmental disaster.

Located on a 13.8-acre parcel, 8 Presidential Way was purchased from Sanmina SCI Corp. Based in San Jose, CA, the electronics equipment manufacturing firm had ceased operations at 8 Presidential Way in 1999. Bought under the entity CFRI/CO Woburn LLC, the new ownership acquired the two-story building vacant. Beyond announcing the name change, Brown would not provide details of the strategy, but observers say the approach will likely be similar to Campanelli’s acquisition of the Granite Woods Corporate Center in Braintree. That two-building park was recently renovated into modern office space, an effort that this spring won a coveted 40,000-sf lease with Travelers Indemnity Insurance Co., a deal initially reported by GlobeSt.com.