Introduction
320 Norwood Park South is a 40,000 SF two-story office building located in a planned office park with immediate access to Route 1 in Norwood. The building became fully vacant in late 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic when the demand for office had halted and its viability in the near future was uncertain. The building came on the market for sale as a fully vacant asset within this same time period.
The Challenge
The pandemic-era timing, asset type, and space available presented unique challenges that were overcome on this project. The main challenge was illustrating to the market place that an office asset could become a viable option for tenants other than traditional office users. In addition to being in light manufacturing zoning and the property having heavy power, adding in a freight elevator to the common loading dock and having an architect available to produce test fit plans was paramount to helping prospective groups see the vision.
Another challenge was the vacant space being on the second floor of the building. Flex and R&D tenants traditionally require some type of loading access to their space- even if that loading is for monthly deliveries or one time equipment installation. To meet this need R.W. Holmes advised on installing a freight elevator the building. This helped solve logistical concerns and brought forth more potential uses.
Differentiate & Add Value:
Repositioned a property in an asset class with historic high vacancy rate at the time into an in-demand product while achieving market rents and executing long term deals.
Improvements Based on Target Tenancy:
Focusing on flex specific improvements to transition the property as well as upgrades to base building systems and common spaces drew tenants towards the property. A freight elevator and an on site generator for loss of power which were critical for many of the target tenants allowed the property to be competitive with other options.
Flexibility Tenant Improvements:
Flex and R&D tenants typically require tenant improvements that rival traditional office users in cost and complexity. Market rents in this park allowed for greater improvement allowances than typical industrial properties would offer. Additionally, being flexible on allowing tenants to amortize improvements beyond the given allowance into the rent instead of becoming an out of pocket cost allowed for longer term leases and more sophisticated tenancy.
Conclusion:
The collaboration between Brave Dog Properties and R.W. Holmes led to full occupancy with long term leases. Tenancy now consists of med-tech, defense, and lab users.