Feb. 24, 2022, CHARLOTTE, NC Rob Nahigian, FRICS, SIOR, CRE, MCR of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, Mass. was invited by the SIOR Carolina Chapter to be its keynote speaker at its annual SIOR Carolinas Regional Event. Rob’s presentation was entitled “Chaos, Calamity and Confusion: The State of Logistics/Supply Chain Industrial Real Estate.” There were over 100 SIORs and guests attending the event at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Charlotte, NC. The Grand Bohemian Hotel is a new addition to the downtown Charlotte area. Rob spoke on logistics-supply chain real estate site selection decisions and the state of the logistics-supply world. His recent research and experience revealed new game shifters in the logistics world, the update on the impact of e-commerce, the mid-west and gulf port shift, where we are headed with the port logjam and why it occurred. He also looked to the future on where industrial logistics is headed and what solutions are necessary to relieve the inventory chaos. He had multiple slides of ports and intermodals with new site selection metrics that brought the SIOR attendee the ways of future trends.
CADC Holdings’ second acquisition
Feb. 15, 2022 PORTLAND, MAINE, Rob Nahigian, FRICS, SIOR, CRE, MCR of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, MA and Tom Moulton, CCIM, SIOR of Dunham-Group of Portland, Maine are pleased to announce that they represented CADC Holdings/DeepEdge of Boston, MA in its acquisition of 340 Cumberland Avenue, Portland, Maine. The sale occurred February 15, 2022 for $6,900,000. This office center facility is comprised of approximately 52,272 square feet in downtown Portland. This is the second office acquisition by CADC Holdings. Rob has been engaged as its national real estate consultant by Deep Edge to negotiate building acquisitions, lease renewals, new leases and brokerage agreements on acquisitions. Rob contacted Tom Moulton who is an SIOR in Portland to assist in its search for a Portland office facility. DeepEdge currently has a facility in Charlotte, NC that it purchased as an office/data center at 701 E. Trade Street, Charlotte, NC. It has recently leased space in Reno, NV. Deep Edge has a long-term plan to acquire or lease up to twenty locations throughout the U.S. Deep Edge is a data center operation backed by private equity. Martin Hannigan is the Founder and CEO of Deep Edge located in Boston, MA. Martin has worked at Level 3 Communication has Director of Network Operations, as well as working at INAP, EarthLink Internet, Verisign, Verne Global, Microsoft and others. He has a deep level of contacts in the data center/telecommunications industry. Deep Edge is backed by two U.S. private equity companies. Deep Edge recently purchased the 37,070 square foot Charlotte office building in late 2020 and the Portland facility in February, 2022.
Announcing the Completion of a Corporate Lease with Deep Edge Realty of Boston in Reno, Nevada
Nov. 2021: Rob Nahigian, FRICS, SIOR, CRE, MCR of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, Mass. is pleased to announce the completion of a corporate lease with Deep Edge Realty of Boston in Reno, Nevada. Rob has been engaged by Deep Edge since 2020 as its national real estate director on a consulting basis. Deep Edge has a long term plan to acquire or lease up to twenty locations throughout the U.S. Deep Edge is a data center operations backed by private equity. Rob has been evaluating sites for fiber optics, arranging tours, negotiating leases or purchases, providing overall advice on tenant renewals and the scope of this national program. Martin Hannigan is the Founder and CEO of Deep Edge located in Boston, MA. Martin stated that “Rob Nahigian in our opinion is probably the most knowledgeable commercial broker and advisor in the Boston market. He is light years ahead of the competition and were excited to have him on our leadership team.”Currently Rob is in the process of negotiating with Martin in nine separate cities. Deep Edge recently purchased an office building in Charlotte, NC at 701 E. Trade Street. The office building contains approximately 37,070 square feet. In Reno, Deep Edge leased space at 200 South Virginia during November, 2021 from Basin Street Properties, a prominent northern Nevada and N. California real estate investment firm. Deep Edge will lead the Reno market with solutions with internet core infrastructure by offering location-focused infrastructure and interconnection solutions that decrease cost, increase the building value and add additional end-user performance. 200 South Virginia is a nine-story, 119,800 sf Class A office building located in an Opportunity Zone in Reno.Rob has also negotiated a Purchase Contract for an office building in another area of the Northeast U.S. Two other leases are being negotiated currently in the Mid-West U.S.
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
A real estate consultant has been hired by the former CEO of Cumberland Farms
April, 2021, Rob Nahigian, FRICS,CRE,SIOR,MCR was engaged a real estate counselor by the former CEO of Cumberland Farms, Ari Haseotes and his family trust in this disposition of 40 acres of industrial land in W. Bridgewater, MA.