"It's a good sweet spot for a lot of investors," Richards Barry Joyce & Partners investment sales specialist Richard Herlihy tells GlobeSt.com in acknowledging his firm has been retained to peddle the assets. The offering represents a good portion of the five million sf that KS Partners founder Kambiz Shahbazi has acquired in southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts during the past decade. The Westborough holdings being harvested include 2200 West Park Dr., a four-story, 75,000-sf first class property that opened in 1999 and 115-117 Flanders Rd, a 21-year-old complex totaling 160,000 sf. KS is also selling 3 Riverside Dr. in Andover, 165 Lexington Rd. in Billerica and 19 and 21 Alpha Rd. in Chelmsford.

RBJ was initially hired last year to analyze the KS portfolio, and Herlihy explains there were congruities that led to the seven buildings being assembled for a joint sale, including having the same debt source. "That was a key consideration," Herlihy says of what he terms "favorable balanced sheet debt" that should comfort buyers given the recent upheaval in the lending arena. It is also a reason why the buildings will not be sold individually. Also, the properties are at key junctures along I-495, notes Herlihy, something RBJ anticipates will attract investors seeking a critical mass on the improving I-495 belt. The Andover building is near the I-93 interchange, while the Billerica and Chelmsford flex properties are near the booming Route 3 corridor.

According to year-end figures by RBJ's research department, I-495 North posted 291,000 sf of positive net absorption in 2007, while I-495 West registered an impressive 504,000 sf. Rising rents from Route 128 inward are fueling confidence that the I-495 belt will continue to recover from the technology crash that began in 2001. RBJ puts the I-495 vacancy rate at 20.8%, well below the regional peak. The KS Partners portfolio is about 75% leased, providing a blend of stability and upside for prospective buyers, according to RBJ. "It's a nice combination," says Herlihy, who is handling the assignment with colleague Richard Bradbury.

Three Riverside Dr. is a 90,000-sf office building, 165 Lexington Rd. features 80,000 sf of flex space, and 19 and 21 Alpha Rd. total 128,000 sf. The sale will take Andover and Westborough off the KS Partners roster, but the firm still owns properties in two dozen other New Hampshire and Massachusetts communities, including multiple buildings in Billerica and Chelmsford.