Article from New England Real Estate Journal
METHUEN, MA – Brooks Properties of Salem, NH, signed a long-term lease with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to occupy more than half of the 96,000 s/f building at 5 Branch St. As the Valley Office Park’s anchor tenant, Dana-Farber will be making a substantial investment to convert the existing office space into a cancer care center in the Merrimack Valley. Renovation is underway in the 48,325 s/f space. Dana-Farber expects to open in early 2020. Bob Richards of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant and Brooks Properties was represented in house.
“I am very pleased with the Dana Farber announcement,” said mayor Jim Jajuga, who has made economic development a major priority of his first term as mayor. “This project has the added benefit of providing enhanced medical treatment care options for the residents of Methuen and the Merrimack Valley. It’s a double win for Methuen.”
Methuen’s Valley Office Park is a medical and office campus made up of five buildings, located off Exit 46 on I-93. With a newly opened restaurant at the front of the campus, new fitness center, access and visibility to the highway, walking paths, and on-site daycare, Valley Office Park has attracted many new tenants in recent years. Improvements to the highway have made a major impact on the area as well.
“The city of Methuen has been easy to work with,” said Joe Friedman, president of Brooks Properties, “The highway improvements have made it much easier to attract tenants like Dana-Farber.”
This Dana-Farber lease caps off another successful year for Brooks Properties. The company, founded by Harold J. Brooks, completed a new 4-story medical office building in Salem, NH, with another 3-story medical office building currently under construction in Salem. They completed just under 60 deals with over 400,000 s/f of real estate transactions in 2018.
Brooks Properties also manages the buildings at 1 Branch St. and 13 Branch St. in Valley Office Park. The park has had a history of medical tenants including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and Steward Holy Family Hospital. Brooks Properties is consistently working to attract established businesses to the area to drive job growth throughout the Merrimack Valley
