Great Tenant - Great Article
EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
August 13, 2011Windham redevelopment project lures businesses
By John Toolejtoole@eagletribune.com
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WINDHAM — LifeSafety Power is an emerging company with a plan to grow in three years from less than $1 million in business to more than $5 million. The company also plans to expand its workforce from a half dozen to 30.
The company, which makes sophisticated, technical power-supply products, will accomplish that growth by relocating, but not very far. LifeSafety has moved from one corner of its home at 49 Range Road to the other.
From the street, Castle Commons looks like a brand new building. Developers have overhauled the 1980s-era, plaza-style property to retain LifeSafety and lure upscale tenants.
For LifeSafety, the decision to occupy a renovated property was the right one for business.
"I'd say this will handle us to just about the three-year point. Then we'll be talking about more space or a new location," said Joseph M. Holland, LifeSafety's vice president of engineering. "Being a new company starting out, with a customer base near zero, you can't afford to pay exorbitant or flashy rent for space."
LifeSafety and Castle Commons are prime examples of a hot trend in the Southern New Hampshire commercial real estate market.
Ralph Valentine of The Valentine Group of Derry, which is marketing Castle Commons, said that trend is visible in Salem, Derry and Londonderry. It's driven by economic conditions, Valentine said.
"It takes less money to buy and retrofit than build new from scratch," he said.
Town approval may be needed for some uses, but where the building already exists, "It's a shorter process," Valentine said.
Castle Commons is a small-scale version in Windham of the big-scale redevelopment of the old Cisco Systems plant in Salem. Both involve a group of businesses occupying renovated commercial property.
Valentine said a salon and spa, which can't be identified yet for business reasons, soon will relocate to Castle Commons, bringing in another 20 jobs.
There's plenty of room for other businesses. Up to five more suites are available, though businesses could occupy more than one suite.
The suites range from about 2,000 square feet to more than 14,000. The space is in the town's business, professional and technology district. It is being marketed for light manufacturing, offices and leisure uses, such as a health and fitness center or restaurant.
The property has 150 feet of frontage along busy Route 111. An estimated 20,000 vehicles drive by daily.
"Is this the best location in Windham now for retail? We think so," Valentine said.
LifeSafety owners knew occupying existing, renovated commercial space was the safe choice.
"The location is just over the Massachusetts border and just off I-93," Holland said. "The internal appointments gave us plenty of natural light."
The building rehabilitation gave the property a fresh look.
"Everything we've done is aesthetic," said Christopher Nickerson of E. Nickerson Associates, which oversaw reconstruction as landlord representative for owner Mashop Development LLC.
The makeover included new windows, awnings, fresh paint and new sign spaces, giving the building a stucco look. The new facade is accented to emulate towers at nearby Searles Castle.
The redevelopment team included E.N. Hebert Engineering, Interiors East and Felco Builders.
"The users we're interested in pursuing are in the higher end of the rental scale," Nickerson said. "They are looking for high-end look, which we have here."
LifeSafety was a joy to work with on their end of the project, according to Nickerson.
"Everything was on a handshake," he said.
And LifeSafety was pleased with the new quarters.
"This was as close to a new facility as you could possibly get without being one," Holland said.
