Townsend Sells Tech Center for $150M

David Townsend, president of the selling company, tells GlobeSt.com that his firm bought the property in 1997 for $100 million, and had then tried to gain semiconductor tenants. However, only one such-tenant was found, current space user FabTech Inc. "It had been two separate industrial buildings, about half a million sf each, connected by a 300,000-sf office hub," he says. "We demolished the hub, and positioned the property to show off the large spaces, ability to handle large power inexpensively, and good parking." It's now 93% leased, with the General Services Administration as the largest tenant, along with users such as Caremark/CVS and Quest Diagnostics. Cushman & Wakefield and Waterford Property Co. LLC handled the sale.

Also close by, Townsend had sold off another 30 acres for the 550,000-sf Summit Fair lifestyle center project, expected to open in fall 2008. The development is one of the only projects to get off the ground after a failed attempt to bring a Legoland entertainment park, with adjoining retail, to the area.

Townsend sold the property, he says, to concentrate on another project on 200 acres nearby. The land could hold a mixed-use office and retail project, with some added apartments or condos, he says. "It's only in the planning stages at this point," Townsend says. "The first phase of the ring road is in process now. We want to open up the balance of the property for development, and then look at where we want to head. The area is very attractive for data center users, and we've entertained a number of data center clients." Red Development may play a part in the new office construction.