The transaction reflects "a little of both" expansion for thenearby medical facility and Seagate's desire to jettison excessreal estate, the seller's broker, Christopher Tosti, tellsGlobeSt.com. Growth-minded Seagate is undertaking the approach fordozens of similarly acquired properties nationally, a strategyTosti says is deemed a prudent investment approach. "They reallyneeded to do this" to be fiscally responsible, he says of Seagate,which is headquartered in Scotts Valley, CA.

Tosti, who has represented the building through variousownerships along with CBRE/NE principals Robert Walles and RobertMcGuire, says that Seagate will retain "a substantial presence" inthe building for an unannounced term, and "pockets" of space willbe available for other third-party tenants. But Tosti says hebelieves the intention is for UMass to ultimately employ the bulkof the two-building, interconnected complex for its ownrequirements. Despite its hefty size, the property is close to fullright now, says Tosti.

Besides a prominent location in the heart of the MetroWest'sRoute 9 corridor, plentiful parking and closeness to the medicalcenter campus in abutting Worcester, Tosti says UMass will benefitfrom various physical features of 333 South St. As a manufacturingplant for DEC's disc drive division and successors up to Seagate,one-third of the space is fitted out as clean rooms and could bealtered to accommodate the medical center's research needs in thatarea, says Tosti.