Counseling assignment for Southbridge Associates, LLC on the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center, Southbridge, MA.

Nov. 2021: Rob Nahigian, FRICS, CRE, SIOR, MCR of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, Mass. is pleased to announce that he has completed a counseling assignment for Southbridge Associates, LLC on the Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center, Southbridge, MA. The Conference Center contains two levels of office space that was leased to the U.S. Department of Defense for the last twenty years. The Hotel and Conference Center was formally the headquarters of American Optical for decades. AO eventually closed its operations and the property was eventually sold to Southbridge Associates, LLC. The new ownership converted the headquarters space into a 203 room high end hotel. The lobby traverses to a professional conference center that is engaged by outside professional associates and trade organizations. The property is part of a larger complex of over 1 million square feet of industrial and office space. Rob’s focus was on the 263,379 square feet of hotel and conference center. His research was to study the macro-economic development of the Southbridge marketplace and its future development opportunities.Rob spent from July to November, 2021 studying the entire marketplace, interviewing over 55 professionals, state and local public officials and local residents to create a strategic analysis, evaluation and plan that focused on Southbridge and the hotel/conference center. Recommendations were submitted as well as insight on the future of the Southbridge marketplace and how the marketplace would be repositioned.

The Commercial Alliance of Realtors on Discovering Commercial Real Estate

Fall, 2021, Rob Nahigian has been invited to speak at a number of Fall, 2021 real estate events including the NAR National Convention. In September, 2021 he will speak to the Berkshire County Board of Realtors on Commercial Lease Clauses; Sept. 14 he will speak for the Realtors Commercial Alliance on the Anatomy of the Commercial Building; Sept. 15 to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors on Commercial RE Geographic and Finance; Sept. 16 for NAI Global on Synergistic Sales Skills; Sept. 20-21 to the MA Association of Realtors on Commercial, Industrial and International Real Estate; Sept. 23 in Dallas for SIOR on Negotiating Skills; Sept. 27 in Atlanta for Coldwell Banker Commercial on Industrial RE and Logistics Supply Chain decisions; Oct. 20 for Rhode Island Assoc. of Realtors on Commercial Loan Packages; Oct. 22 for MA NAIOP on Negotiating Pitfalls; Oct. 28 for Realtors Commercial Alliance on Discovering Commercial Real Estate; Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 for MA NAIOP on Highest and Best Use Analysis; Nov. 13 for NAR National Convention on the Art of Negotiating; Nov. 18 for RCA on Commercial Loan Packages; Dec. 3 in Charlotte for SIOR on Negotiating Skills and Dec. 7 for NAI Global on Negotiating Skills.

Completion of the corporate mission with Miele, Inc.

August, 2021 Rob Nahigian, FRICS, SIOR, CRE, MCR of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, Mass. is pleased to announce the completion of a corporate assignment with Miele, Inc. as its tenant representative. Miele has leased approximately 6,163 square feet of office/innovation space at Two Corporation Way, Peabody, MA. The site search started from February, 2021 and a lease was signed August, 2021. Miele’s corporate headquarters is located in Princeton, NJ. Miele is a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances and commercial equipment, headquartered in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia. The company was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, and it has always been a family-owned and family-run company. Miele is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-end appliances for domestic and commercial use, including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers; and laundry and floor care products. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of 21,000 and generated revenues exceeding $5.3 billion in 2020.Miele received numerous design and innovation awards for its products and routinely ranks among the top recognized brands in Europe. In North America, Miele is marketed as a high-end major appliance brand and competes against brands such as Küppersbusch, Sub-Zero, Wolf & Cove, Gaggenau, Fagor, Viking Range, Dacor, Asko, JennAir, and Thermador.Miele is establishing a new Emerging Technologies Lab (ETL) at Two Corporate Way to provide a creative and collaborative environment for applied research and proof-of-concept studies with startups and other innovative research partners in the U.S. This innovation lab seeks to extend research collaborations with external partners in a wide range of cutting edge technologies, including but not limited to robotics, artificial intelligence, sensors, food/health tech, energy & sustainability, HMI and cyber security. Serving as the interface between Miele’s R&D units and the highly dynamic, innovative startups community, the ETL works like a startup, with startups, while enjoying the resources and stability of a large, successful enterprise. Auburndale Realty Co. exclusively represented the Tenant.

Guidance and comprehensive search for good places for the purpose of investing

Mr. Nahigian conducted a facilities evaluation and market search that included a geographic area from Western and Central MA to SE MA and Rhode Island. Springfield, Worcester, Rt. 495, SE MA and Central MA were the focus points studied. The study unveiled more than 45 sites, land and/or existing buildings with the minimum criteria of having 90,000 to 120,000 square feet with outdoor parking for over 120 cars and trucks. The property at 7-9 Latti Farm was available by the owner. The property includes over 38 acres of land with the building.
HMI also had a location in Woburn, MA at Cummings Park that it recently consolidated to Whitinsville, MA. During the site selection process, Rob Nahigian contacted MA Office of Business Development and MassEcon for guidance on possible sites, funding, financial incentives and loan packages for Woon-Tech
The renovation construction should be completed near the end of the summer, 2021. Woon-Tech expects to occupy the space in the Fall, 2021. Auburndale Realty Co. exclusively represented WoonTech. The property will be completed with renovations and reconstruction during August, 2021.

A highest and best use report for a commercial property in Framingham, MA on a possible disposition or redevelopment.

June, 2021, Rob Nahigian has completed a highest and best use report for a commercial property in Framingham, MA on a possible disposition or redevelopment.
May, 2021, CADC Holdings have engaged Auburndale Realty Co. as its national real estate consulting firm in its acquisition and leasing of office and industrial sites nationwide. CADC is in the process of securing a multitude of projects for its operations and investments. Rob Nahigian will serve as the focus consultant on lease and purchase negotiations. CADC is working in concert with a private equity firm.

National economic trends in commercial real estate

Spring and Summer, 2021, Rob Nahigian spoke for a number of industry organizations during the 2021. He presented Retail and ECommerce to the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, April, 2021; National Economic Trends in Commercial Real Estate for the Rhode Island Association of Realtors in May, 2021. Then Negotiating Skills for the SIOR Designation in June, 2021, Commercial Leases Analysis and Fundamentals of Commercial Real Estate for Boston University summer semester; and Commercial Leasing for MA NAIOP Certificate program in July, 2021

Announced that he had recently completed a corporate real estate deal for Hoskin & Muir, d/b/a HMI-Cardinal of Louisville, KY

April, 2021 Rob Nahigian, FRICS, CRE, SIOR, MCR of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, Mass. is pleased to announce that he recently completed a corporate real estate transaction for Hoskin&Muir, d/b/a HMI-Cardinal of Louisville, KY and its subsidiary Woon-Tech of 369 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, MA. It has resulted in one of the most impactful manufacturing relocation and long-term leases in central Massachusetts and the Worcester market. Woon-Tech will be leasing 120,000 square feet in total and relocating over 125 new manufacturing and warehouse jobs to 7-9 Latti Farm Road, Millbury, MA. The lease control period is long-term. The facility is located in the Millbury Industrial Park comprised of a total of 160,000 square foot and was the former Boston Globe Press and Distribution operations. The vacant building was the former Worcester Telegram & Gazette facility that was sold to the Boston Globe. The location of Millbury Industrial Park is key for distribution as its 2 miles from Rt. 140 and the MA Pike. The Boston Globe closed this facility in 2016 and sold it three years later to Tonuse, Inc., the current landlord. The plant was constructed approximately 22 years ago when The Globe owned the Worcester Telegram & Gazette which it sold in 2014.Mr. Nahigian developed and implemented a strategic plan with Woon-Tech and HMI during the Summer of 2020 to relocate its workers and manufacturing for its global reach. WoonTech is a glass company that manufactures and customizes glass shower doors, glass table-tops, glass wall partitions, floorings, awnings, etc. The company takes large sheets of glass, then custom cuts the glass and polishes the glass for delivery. Its customer base is both residential and commercial. The company ships out over 1,000 pieces per day with over 750 customers. Woon-Tech’s partners are located on the east coast, Montreal and Europe. Its financial operations throughout the U.S. have exceled in the last five years and has outgrown its current location. The company is looking to add another 20 to 30 employees. It is currently located in Whitinsville, MA in a total of 40,000 square feet of space comprised of office/manufacturing/warehouse. Its main facility is 33,000 square feet. The President of Woon-Tech is Josh Foster who is now the National Vice-President of Operations for HMI-Cardinal. Josh spearheaded the site selection process working with Rob Nahigian since last July, 2020. HMI-Cardinal is a privately held company with locations throughout the U.S.The landlord is Tonuse, Inc. of Worcester, MA, an industrial investment company that owns properties throughout the Northeast. Its President Tony Russell was instrumental in the lease negotiations and to the details of HMI’s requirements to make this transaction a success since the initial contact last August, 2020. The property will undergo a multi-million-dollar renovation for Woon-Tech that will include an upgrade of the manufacturing facility, offices and warehouse area to a state-of-the-art condition.

Auburndale Realty has been engaged to represent Miele as its corporate tenant representative for a Boston area innovation center.

March, 2021, Auburndale Realty has been engaged to represent Miele as its corporate tenant representative for a Boston area innovation center. Miele is a privately-held, German-based firm that specializes in luxury high home appliances. Miele has over 20,000 employees in over 50 countries including North America and Europe