FRANKLIN, MA-A single-story commercial property here is under new stewardship, with Realty Associates Advisors LLC paying $10 million for 38 Forge Park. The 79,000-sf flex building had been owned by Patriot/Reading Associates, a local private investment group that paid $8.7 million for the asset in 2001. The building is located in Forge Park, a complex featuring a range of corporate and industrial tenants.

Constructed in 1999, 38 Forge Park offers features found in most modern buildings such as extra power and in-place technology capabilities, plus ample parking and a convenient location just off Interstate 495, according to brokers at Richards Barry Joyce & Partners. The Boston-based real estate services firm marketed 38 Forge Park for the sellers and procured the buyer, an affiliate of TA Realty Associates of Boston.

"Forge Park has witnessed a high level of activity this year, and for good reason," says RBJ VP Richard Bradbury, a member of the firm's investment sales division. Proximity to a commuter rail station accessing Boston is another draw for 38 Forge Park, says Bradbury, adding that the commuting options and product mix establish it "among the top master planned developments in the market." The RBJ team brokering the sale of 38 Forge Park included Richard Herlihy, John Lashar and Paul Leone. RBJ was also named leasing agent for the building by the new owners.

Focused more on distribution and warehouse product, the Interstate 495 South market anchored by Franklin has a small amount of flex space, with RBJ's research department tracking just more than three million sf. The dearth of flex supply, which is far more prevalent west and north of Boston, has kept the vacancy rate for I-495 South lower than other regions. The current flex vacancy rate there is 11.6%, RBJ indicates in its most recent flexSTATus report.