WALTHAM, MA- Public Storage Inc. purchased the Fotobeam/IKON site here on 260 Lexington St. The six-acre parcel had a number of constraints that eluded various developers who attempted to build on the site.
“A number of developers have tried to do something on this site but nothing seemed to work,” Tim Lescalleet, principal and executive vice president of The Codman Company, tells GlobeSt.com. Lescalleet represented the seller, Deacon Realty Trust, in this deal.
Hotels, apartments, assisted living facilities, corporate offices and a number of retail concepts were among the development scenarios attempted here. Stop & Shop and Starmarket both tried to develop grocery stores here but to no avail. Part of the problem stems from the two-lane street running outside the property that raise traffic concerns with any major development here. The back of the site abuts a residential area that also makes development tricky. And then there are the two acres that are considered wetlands.
Perhaps the biggest issue here is the zoning nature of the site. While 60,000 sf of the property is zoned for commercial use, the rest is zoned for residential use. According to Lescalleet, the site also had title issues that needed to be resolved.
Deacon Realty Trust, which developed a commercial blueprinting and graphic imaging facility here purchased the property in 1980. IKON purchased FotoBeam in 1998 and Deacon leased the 25,000 sf commercial building here to IKON. IKON wants to move in order to consolidate its business.
Public Storagae did not disclose the purchase price, but industry sources tell GlobeSt.com that the company paid $3 million for the site. “It's a high price per usable acre,” the source says. “The property is very constrained.”
According to a released statement, Public Storage plans to build a three-story facility that will replace the current building. The company was able to receive approval because it recycled the 200-space parking lot into a natural wetland site.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
