The Boston-based buyer faced about seven others in a hotly contested quest for ownership of the brick complex, known as Inner Tech Park, but won out with its high-priced offer to seller Pinnacle Properties, which had placed the asset on the market just six weeks earlier, Richard Bradbury, of Richards Barry Joyce & Partners' Boston office tells GlobeSt.com.

"It was very competitive," says Bradbury, who represented the Boston-based seller in the transaction. "Some people were looking at it as a stabilized asset but the ones that had the most interest were looking at it for development." Bradbury says the complex, located at 52-56 Roland St. in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood, brought out the competitive edge in buyers because of its location in one of the last remaining areas of the city to see redevelopment. With its stabilized tenant base, its value-added appeal and the potential turn redevelop the property, investor interest was intense, he says.

"Anytime you see the potential for a development opportunity, interest is going to be high," says Bradbury, noting that the complex also includes one acre of land and lies adjacent to other potential redevelopment sites. "As you look around the inner suburban marketplace, there's not a lot of sites like this." Bradbury says it is unclear what the buyer has in store for the complex and no one from Essex River returned calls from GlobeSt.com seeking comment. The firm owns several properties in Boston and the surrounding area, including 186 Lincoln St. and 225 Friend St., both in Boston, and the Lexington Corporate Center in Lexington, MA.

Inner Tech Park, which is comprised of a mix of office, laboratory and research and development space, is about 80% leased by a diverse tenant roster that includes an engineering firm, a non-profit organization and the offices of a gubernatorial candidate.

Pinnacle Properties was represented in the transaction by Bradbury along with Richard Herlihy and Steven Purpura, also with Richards Barry Joyce & Partners. The brokerage team also procured the buyer in the deal.