TradeCenter 128, Woburn, Mass.
Taking care of its need for more space, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's subsidiary, Health Plans, Inc., has relocated from 92 Montvale in Stoneham to more than 4,400 s/f at TradeCenter 128. Both properties are leased and managed by Cummings Properties.
Health Plans, a third party administrator of health and benefit plans, is reportedly the largest in New England. Founded in 1981, it offers attractive, innovative product designs to employers seeking to provide an affordable yet comprehensive benefits package to their employees. Health Plans provides administrative and consulting services to health plan sponsors. Its diverse client base includes hospitals, manufacturing firms, labor unions, municipalities, credit unions, media outlets and retail food chains, among others.
In 2005, Health Plans partnered with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to merge its flexibility and affordability with the power of Harvard Pilgrim's extensive provider network and its widely recognized commitment to service and quality.
"A company that provides superb service as well as the personal touch to its clients expects to receive that same caliber of service from its real estate provider," said Steve Costa, Cummings Properties' leasing/property manager who represented it in the lease extension and expansion. "The group at Health Plans needed to double their space and wanted a first-class building with ample, free parking and numerous amenities. We worked hard to find a space that met their needs, and we're glad we were able to provide them with everything on their checklist."
Costa noted that both 92 Montvale and TradeCenter 128 are highly visible, first-class properties with covered parking and multi-story atriums that let in an abundance of natural light. "The natural stone, granite and oak accent materials in TradeCenter 128 were details that Health Plans appreciated," he said, "and TradeCenter's location fronting Interstate 95/Route 128 was better suited for Health Plans' business needs than the Montvale building's proximity to Interstate 93."
Tudor Risk Services, LLC, a boutique insurance brokerage firm, has leased 7,000 s/f of office space at Cummings TradeCenter 128 as part of its rapid growth strategy.
Tudor Risk Services was founded earlier this year with dual corporate offices in Boston and Albany, New York. The newly formed insurance brokerage firm offers a boutique approach to address its clients' property and casualty, employee benefits, executive and personal, and risk management needs.
Peter Lennon, president at Tudor Risk Services said, "We found this building to be the best in the area to help spur our growth. Not only will the location allow us to hire additional employees to meet the demands of our insurance brokerage firm, but it will allow us to build on our reputation of being a one-of-a-kind, innovative and eco-friendly company."
"We are delighted to have assisted Tudor Risk Services in finding the perfect location for its growth strategy," said Derek Cook, leasing director at Cummings Properties who represented it in the leasing transaction. "TradeCenter 128 offers the perfect mix of affordability, accessibility and visibility, along with energy-efficient LEED Gold design in a truly first-class building."
Murray, Kelly & Bertrand, P.C., a multi-service law firm, has moved from Unicorn Park in Woburn into more than 5,000 s/f of space at Cummings TradeCenter 128.
Murray, Kelly & Bertrand focuses on civil litigation in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Its areas of expertise include medical malpractice, professional, product, liquor, premises, environmental, general and commercial liabilities; workers' compensation; and insurance coverage. Attorneys affiliated with the firm also represent clients in significant commercial real estate transactions.
According to officials, the firm's attorneys also have significant experience in the representation of professional clients before various regulatory and disciplinary agencies within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including the Boards of Registration in Medicine, Nursing, Social Work, Psychiatry and the Board of Bar Overseers.
Managing partner and co-founder, Philip Murray, was attracted to TradeCenter 128 by the quality of the first-class building and its proximity to the Middlesex County Superior Courthouse. "We really liked the overall look and feel of the building, and excellent access to the court was a highly attractive, additional feature for us," he said.
The Middlesex County Superior Court moved from Cambridge last year and occupies its own 140,000 s/f building in the TradeCenter 128 campus that includes 15 courtrooms, jury deliberation rooms, clerks' offices, judges' chambers and the Middlesex Law Library. The courthouse building also provides office space for staff of the Middlesex District Attorney's Office and the Committee for Public Counsel Services as well as space designated for victims/witnesses and bar advocates.
Derek Cook, Cummings Properties' leasing director, represented it in the lease transaction. Murray, Kelly & Bertrand represented itself.
TradeCenter 128 is a new 500,000 s/f office complex offering unprecedented frontage and signage opportunities along Rte. 128/I-95, "America's Technology Highway." Its dramatic design features the latest in energy efficient (LEED pre-certified Gold) construction, exterior balconies, a three-story atrium, extensive glass curtain walls and ribbon windows and a three-story drive-through architectural archway.
With 40 years of experience in commercial real estate, Woburn-based developer Cummings Properties has earned a solid reputation for operations and service excellence. It leases and manages 10 million square feet of prime commercial space in 10 communities surrounding Boston.
