Transwestern Snags 300 Friberg Pkwy. Listing

WESTBOROUGH — a 78,455-sf office building here bought by Campanelli and TriGate Capital for a scant $2.25 million in June will be refurbished into modern office space, the new owners of 300 Friberg Parkway have announced in tabbing 300 Friberg Parkway, Westborough MA Transwestern RBJ as exclusive listing agents for the struggling 31-year-old property. The asset was secured in a direct agreement with special servicer C-III Asset Management after being foreclosed on last summer. Campanelli’s acquisition director is Stephen Murphy.

A specialty of the Campanelli/TriGate partnership has been to purchase under water or underperforming buildings across Massachusetts for a low basis and then incorporate a capital improvements and leasing strategy that has resulted in numerous successful suburban turnarounds since the 2008 recession opened up opportunities for value-add groups backed by patient capital. The partnership is presently hard at work repositioning Heritage Landing in Quincy Center and at the beginning of this year traded a four-building package to Jumbo Capital in a $14.5 million exchange of 144,000 sf the sellers had bought for $11.5 million three years earlier.

Reportedly, Campanelli and TriGate had mulled a multifamily conversion of 300 Friberg Parkway, but ultimately opted to take its more traditional approach. Some maintain the improving office market in the Interstate 495 Central region could have encouraged that plan after the submarket had struggled for many years after the 2008 recession. Although net absorption for the past 12 months has been negative, according to Transwestern RBJ research, the average asking rent of $21.05 per sf is nearly a dollar higher than mid-year 2011 when it hit the low point. Also, net absorption in the second quarter approached 175,000 sf for the inventory of 16.8 million in the survey. Commitments included a 23,000-sf lease at 1 Research Dr. in Westborough and 10,000 sf at 110 Turnpike Rd., plus 8,000 sf at 352 Turnpike Rd. in Southborough.

Transwestern RBJ principals John Lashar and Paul Leone are working with Senior VP Vicki Keenan and Associate Danielle DeMarco on the 300 Friberg Parkway listing that Lashar predicts “will appeal to tenants in a wide range of industries, given its location, ample parking, and in particular, the improvements planned by Campanelli.” The plan includes renovations to the lobby and common areas, plus the façade and new landscaping. Amenities will be increased for the three-story building, adds the developer who also intends to upgrade tenant suites.

Previously occupied by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, 300 Friberg Parkway is part of the 13-building Westborough Business Park located 30 miles west of Boston. The building has a distinctive pyramid-topped glass entry lobby extending out to a pair of office wings. “Given its flexibility and generous floor plates, the building is ideal for single or multi-tenant use,” says Lashar.