300 Baker Avenue
In December 1996, Gillespie and Co., Inc., in partnership with
Hall Properties, Inc. of Boston, purchased the headquarters
of GenRad Corporation in Concord, Massachusetts, for $6.25 million.
Sited on 75 acres of land directly adjacent to Route 2, the
408,000-square-foot office and R&D building had been built by
GenRad in phases from 1951 to 1980. In mid-1997, GenRad vacated
the building and the development team, in a venture with Lehman
Brothers Holdings, Inc. of New York, renovated the property.
The renovation, designed by Tsoi/Kobus and Associates, included
a new lobby and elevators, upgrades of all major systems, and
a three-story atrium cafeteria. The redevelopment transformed
a functionally obsolete structure into a technologically superior
and visually appealing workplace. In January 1998, the building
was ready for its first tenant, Lucent Technologies, which committed
to 180,000 square feet. Other premier tenants, including SolidWorks,
Mitsubishi, OneSource and EarthTech subsequently moved into
the building.
In 1999, the development team sold the building and two adjacent
building sites to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for $47.75
million. After the sale, the team continued to work with MetLife
to achieve full permits for 200,000 square feet of additional
office development.
|
