Sciolla and McDonough of Cresa Boston broker 76,000 s/f office lease

In one of the biggest Metrowest commercial real estate sales of 2012, Joe Sciolla and Shawn McDonough of Cresa Boston recently represented MicroChem Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Kayaku Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, in the relocation, expansion, and purchase of its 76,000 s/f corporate headquarters at 200 Flanders Rd. The company will occupy both floors of the two-story building with an extra 20,000 s/f of space for future growth and expansion. The company currently leases 35,000 s/f in Newton. According to Jay Cole, president and CEO of MicroChem, the company targeted the metrowest corridor, because of its proximity to a highly skilled, technical workforce, which will be needed to meet the company's long-term growth expectations. He said the Flanders Rd. site was a perfect fit, as the expanded location will enable the company to consolidate its warehouse facilities and expand its operations. The building will also house its sales, marketing, R&D, and manufacturing facilities. The owner, Hero Flanders Road Family Limited Partnership, was represented by Phil Desimone of Jones Lang LaSalle. "The economic upside to purchasing is that we will be able to keep our operations in-house at this state-of-the-art-facility," said Cole. "In addition, the space allows us the ability to expand and accommodate our future growth." According to Cole, MicroChem does not plan to sublease; however, its parent company, Nippon Kayaku Co. Ltd., has recently increased its presence in North America and may utilize a portion of the additional space. The company's relocation and move-in will be completed by fall of 2013.