Campanelli Reaps $27M in Granite Woods Sale

BRAINTREE, MA-Offering another shot in the arm for the region’s investment sales sector, New Boston Fund has closed on a 168,000-sf office park here on the South Shore, paying $27 million for the Granite Woods Corporate Center to the Campanelli Cos. The two-building asset trades in the wake of a quick turnaround by Braintree-based Campanelli, which brought 350 Granite St. to 100% occupancy less than two years after buying the corporate facility for $10.6 million and converting it into a multi-tenanted office park.

“We liked the profile of the deal,” says NBF senior acquisitions analyst Jay Hirsh. “It seems like a good fit for what is going on in the market today.” Colleague Robert Kirschner, who joined Hirsh in negotiating the purchase on behalf of NBF, notes that the park has no leasing exposure for the next three years and is occupied by established tenants, including Verizon Corp. and the Telephone Workers Credit Union. “The acquisition of Granite Woods Corporate Center is a strategic, defensive investment for New Boston,” concurs Jim Kelleher, the Boston-based group’s chief investment officer. A 7.5-acre complex, Granite Woods was secured via NBF’s Fund VII, a $350 million investment vehicle that has a diverse national strategy.

Although sources put the mark at $160 per sf, NBF and Campanelli did not disclose the sales price of Granite Woods, negotiations on which GlobeSt.com previously reported. The latest purchase mimics another Fund VII conquest made in recent months, with NBF previously paying $9.1 million for 151 Campanelli Dr. in Middleborough. Not only are both properties in south suburban Boston, the Campanelli Cos. harvested the Middleborough asset as well. In addition, while Fund VII was created to pursue value-added opportunities, the Massachusetts deals are core investments bearing little near-term risk. But that does not mean the fund’s profile has changed, according to Hirsh, relaying that NBF always planned to intermingle stable assets with those in need of repositioning. Also, he explains, part of the strategy is to find “the best plays in the market,” and to pursue those when possible.