Pepperell Place Redevelopment Grows With Additional MassDevelopment Funds
August 08, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Kelsey Schiller, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 617-694-9695 (cell)
kschiller@massdevelopment.com
Matthew Blackham, The Lexvest Group, LLC, 781-494-4000
MassDevelopment has supplemented its original loan to Lexvest Chapel, LLC to provide $1.45 million in additional funding for the continued redevelopment of Pepperell Place, a 190,000-square-foot formerly vacant industrial building in Pepperell that has been converted into a business center. Lexvest Chapel, LLC is an affiliate of The Lexvest Group, LLC, a regional real estate development company spearheading the redevelopment of Pepperell Place. In 2016, MassDevelopment provided the company with a $2.25 million loan to begin building renovations; the current transaction increases the loan amount to $3.7 million. The additional financing from MassDevelopment will enable Lexvest to complete building renovations to accommodate additional tenants. Lexvest expects this project will create 50 jobs and support 10 construction jobs.
“Pepperell Place is transforming into a state-of-the-art business center and an ideal space for companies to work and grow in north-central Massachusetts,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “MassDevelopment is pleased to provide additional support to The Lexvest Group, LLC as it puts the finishing touches on an already impressive building redevelopment.”
The Lexvest Group, LLC is a privately owned real estate investment, advisory and development company that focuses on value-added and opportunistic real estate projects in all segments of commercial real estate. In developing Pepperell Place, Lexvest used proceeds from the 2016 MassDevelopment loan to begin upgrading the building systems, lobbies, and core, replace the windows and doors, complete landscaping and hardscaping, and add amenities such as a common conference room, break room, and fitness room. Since that time, Lexvest has leased more than 50 percent of the building space to various companies, including manufacturing, distribution, online-fulfillment, and service-based businesses. The building’s newest incoming tenant, 1A Auto, is a leading online retailer of auto parts and will lease more than 17,000 square feet of building space.
MassDevelopment also assisted Lexvest in financing the redevelopment of Phoenix Park, a former cotton mill in Shirley that is now home to more than 40 companies and organizations with more than 300 employees.
“MassDevelopment and Vice President of Commercial Lending Roy Angel have been an instrumental finance partner providing the necessary funding to help us redevelop Pepperell Place and bring jobs back to Pepperell,” said The Lexvest Group President and CEO Eric Shapiro. “We are also grateful for the support from Town Hall and the Pepperell Business Association.”
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2017, MassDevelopment financed or managed 377 projects generating investment of more than $4.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 9,488 jobs and build or rehabilitate 1,863 residential units.