New call center tenant in Belfast helps fill upcoming Bank of America vacancy
Photo / Courtesy of CBRE | The Boulos Co.
A view of the former MBNA campus at 21 Schoodic Drive in Belfast.
When Ashland, Mass.-based OnProcess Technology announced Monday that it had signed a lease to open a new service center in Belfast’s former MBNA campus, it marked the beginning of a new chapter for the business park.
That’s because OnProcess Technology’s new lease at 21 Schoodic Drive wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Bank of America, which is planning to decrease its campus footprint from more than 310,000 square feet to just over 83,000 by the end of December, according to Tony McDonald, a broker at CBRE | The Boulos Co. McDonald represents the owner of the business campus, Stag Industrial, a Boston-based real estate investment firm.
Bank of America spokeswoman Jennifer Darwin confirmed to Mainebiz that the bank is consolidating its Belfast offices and that there will be no job cuts to its 800-person workforce as a result.
The bank’s confirmation of the downsizing plan, which is also indicated in an online real estate brochure, underlines the large vacancy coming soon to the campus. OnProcess Technology has already plugged one of the looming holes by signing a five-year lease for 35,000 square feet on the second floor of the campus’ Building No. 5.
As reported on Monday, a few parties were thanked for helping persuade OnProcess Technology expand to Belfast. That included the state of Maine, the city of Belfast and relocation consultant Maine & Co. But missing from Monday’s announcement was Bank of America, which was instrumental in making the supply chain company’s space available in time, according to McDonald and Maine & Co. President and CEO Peter DelGreco.
DelGreco told Mainebiz that while Bank of America was already planning to leave Building No. 5 and a few other buildings, bringing OnProcess Technology into the picture meant that the bank had to “significantly move up their timeline” to open up space for the company. Despite having to change its original plan, Bank of America was helpful the whole way through, he said.
“Bank of America was an incredible partner in this project,” DelGreco said, noting that the local team was led by Brian King, a senior vice president with the bank, and Maine President Bill Williamson.
“They did everything possible to facilitate the move,” DelGreco said. “They did a great job of covering the needs [of OnProcess Technology] from a real estate perspective.”
“The fact of the matter is, Bank of America is in the process of contracting,” McDonald said. “You don't [downsize] overnight, so we have been working closely with them on that process and when we found [out about OnProcess Technology], we worked with Bank of America to help them accommodate” the company’s space needs.
OnProcess Technology is only one part of the solution to the campus’ large, forthcoming vacancy, but McDonald said he’s confident that more progress can be made. The buildings at 21 Schoodic Drive are optimized for call centers, he said, which is part of what attracted OnProcess Technology and can help attract similar businesses in New England. He also noted that the area has a strong workforce, supported in part by the area’s educational institutions.
“It’s pretty exciting because it’s the first step in the next chapter for that facility,” McDonald said.
DelGreco said OnProcess Technology’s move onto the campus highlights the importance of the initial investment made by MBNA, the credit card company that built the campus in the late 1990’s and was subsequently acquired by the Bank of America. While MBNA and Bank of America resized its workforce and campus footprint over time, that has enabled other businesses to expand here, he said.
That includes Athenahealth, the health technology company that took over 130,000 square feet from Bank of America in 2007 and has since expanded to support about 800 jobs, according to a figure provided to the Bangor Daily News Monday.
“It’s the history and legacy of MBNA’s original investment,” DelGreco said.
DelGreco said opening the campus up to new businesses will also diversify the campus’ tenant base and therefore decrease the risk associated with having just one or two tenants.
“Now we have a financing company, we have a health care IT company and what’s essentially a logistics IT company,” he said, “so no matter what happens to the economy in either industry, you can absorb a little trauma without being devastated.”
This story was originally published in the Mainebiz Real Estate Insider.
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