BJ's Wholesale HQ Trades in Boston Area

WESTBOROUGH, MA-The corporate headquarters of BJ's Wholesale Club has traded in a $26.7-million deal brokered by Avison Young. The firm represented both the sellers of 25 Research Dr. here, National Development/Charles River JV LLC, and the buyer, AGNL Wholesale LLC, an affiliate of Angelo, Gordon & Co.

AY principals Scott Jamieson and Michael Smith, along with VP Brandon Dickson, brokered the sale, some three years after the joint venture of National Development and Charles River Realty Investors LLC acquired the 282,028-square-foot, three-building office property for a reported $20.1 million. "The building was 100% leased at the time of the sale, demonstrating the desirability of the building to the marketplace and giving the new owners the benefit of a long-term strong credit tenant," says Smith. BJ's has net-leased the entire property for its headquarters since 2010.

"Given the appetite in the capital markets for long-term net leases with quality companies, we thought that it was an appropriate time to exit the investment to a core investor," says Bryan Clancy, managing director of Charles River Realty. "We look forward to ultimately redeveloping the 30 acres of excess land that we retained as part of this transaction." The site reportedly can support up to 500,000 square feet of additional development.

Built in the 1960s and extensively renovated in 2001, the site served as the US headquarters for National Grid until 2007, after which the company gradually shifted operations to nearby Waltham. BJ's announced in March 2010 that it would relocate from Natick, another Boston suburb, to 25 Research Dr. Areva, a French nuclear energy company, also occupied space there at one time.