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NAI/Hunneman Fills 220,000 SF for Hackman In Norwood

February 29, 2016 — By Joe Clements

NORWOOD—It is BIG news by any measure, starting with over 220,000 sf leased at 625 University Ave. to close out 2015 in a spurt bringing the hulking 439,875-sf warehouse above 97 percent occupancy. But as exclusive leasing agent Catherine Minnerly explains to Real Reporter, the long-term commitments by two firms are especially rewarding given the space had been fallow since the last decade after 15 years serving Home Depot.

“It has been a long haul,” the NAIHunneman Commercial Co. principal says in reflecting on the leases negotiated for landlord Hackman Capital in concert with colleague Ovar Osvold. ASD Lighting, which is taking 98,900 sf for seven years, was advised by Tony Coskren of JLL while Ed Jarosz represented PODS Enterprises, the ubiquitous storage company catering to commercial and
residential customers via legions of portable moving containers. That firm was angling for a facility offering in excess of 40 feet clear
height, and would have faced a challenging \task were it not for a 122,000-sf block soaring to 54 feet in 625 University Ave.

“It’s very rare,” Minnerly concurs of such high-bay product in eastern Massachusetts, let alone meeting other requirements, i.e.security and safety systems. The Norwood structure that dates to 1969 and previously was occupied by former owner Star Market
has a modern sprinkler system among various features including wide bays, heavy power and rail service that Home Depot used to ship lumber into the site. The ASD Lighting space has 11 loading docks and clear height to 21 feet, whereas PODS can access its
quarters via 17 loading docks and one drive-in door.

Constructed in stages, the 54-foot block was used to store dry goods by the grocery chain, then purchased in March 2000 for $10.0 million by Hackman, a Los Angels firm active in the industrial arena. The Norwood property enables tenants to cover urban centers inside Route 128, not to mention the upscale bedroom communities of Wayland, Wellesley and Weston.Located on 55 acres 15 miles south of Boston at the juncture of Routes 95 and 128, 625 University Ave. is also adjacent to the $2-billion Westwood Station mixeduse project that includes residential and commercial elements.

The pace of leasing industrial has been encouraging during the past 18 months, according to Minnerly, who joined Osvold in a series of 2015 leasing and sales transactions culminating in the University Avenue pacts. ASD Lighting is already in its space and PODS will commence its 10-year term in May. Details of the rental rates were not provided, but the Transwestern RBJ indSTATus survey reveals the Boston-area warehouse market posted a 2.7 percent increase in rents last year to $5.92 per average on the strength of 954,000 sf in positive net absorption to put the inventory of 56 million sf at 11.0 percent, a record low in the survey’s history.

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