SCITUATE — In 2017, Fulcrum Real Estate Partners once again exceeded its minimum annual goal of making zero commercial real estate investments, wrapping up the season buying 56 New Driftway here on the South Shore in a $3.82 million deal brokered by Conrad Group and financed with $2.67 million from Country Bank for Savings.
The seller is Atlantic Management Corp., separately a joint venture partner with Fulcrum on a pair of Marlborough flex buildings
acquired in summer 2016 for $11.5 million.
Fulcrum, founded in 2014 by CRE veterans Robert Kirschner and Richard E. Putprush, also owns an industrial building in Dedham and flex/office product in Coventry, RI, assets bought within a month of each other during the firm’s inaugural campaign. Their acquisition approach is far more measured than similar funds formed this decade to take advantage of the transformational market, but Fulcrum’s principals explain that is the way it was structured, to pursue quality versus quantity as a way to protect investor capital.
“We really only want to buy good deals,” Putprush tells Real Reporter, limiting their scope to opportunities that promise stability plus a path to enhanced income, elements deemed prevalent in 56 New Driftway. “It is 90 percent occupied with a lease average of seven years (remaining) to a very strong tenant base,” Kirschner outlines, and he explains there is a lack of competing medical
office space in the area. The building is presciently across the street from the end of the new Greenbush commuter rail line connecting to downtown Boston, prompting at least one project that calls for multifamily housing on 4.5 acres adjacent to 56 New Driftway, and town planners are considering more flexible zoning to champion further transit-oriented development. “It was really a trifecta of sorts,” Kirschner recounts of Fulcrum’s interest. “It was the attractive basis of $160 a square foot and the in-place cash flow and being in a location with a good story to tell; all of that helped make us comfortable this was worthy of going after, and so we did.”
Dating to 1974, the stylish two-toned building “is in great shape,” Putprush says, crediting the erstwhile owners for maintaining 56 New Driftway during a tenure that began with Atlantic’s purchase in November 2011 for $3.36 million. The Framingham-based firm is led by principals David Capobianco, Irene Gruber and Joseph Zink. Conrad Group Senior VPs Peter H. Cooney and James H. McEvoy negotiated terms for the seller and McEvoy also advised Fulcrum Harbor LLC on the deal.
Putprush praises Country Bank for Savings in coming through with the debt package, the assignment being handled by loan officer Bryan Moore. “They had the same vision we had and that helped add to our confidence,” Putprush says, with the lender who is active in central Massachusetts then performing as promised. “We give them a lot of credit for making it a very nice experience.”
There is about 2,400 sf available at 56 New Driftway and Putprush says a hopeful barometer has been in potential tenants engaging directly with his firm to review the option. Current occupants include Advanced Dental, Baystate Physical Therapy ad Harbor Medical Associates. “We are encouraged,” Putprush says of the interest.
As to 2018 investment goals, Putprush says the lack of a quota does not translate to a dearth of desire or inability to react as they did at 56 New Driftway, with Fulcrum at one point in the process distinguishing itself from other bidders, leading to their designation as winning suitor. “We are always looking and we are ready to act quickly if we see something to our liking,” Putprush says. In terms of capital access once a deal is on the dais, Fulcrum has a stable of loyal investors who have committed to multiple opportunities when presented, Kirschner relays. “That makes us feel we must be doing someting right,” he observes.
Robert Kirschner and Richard Putprush launched Fulcrum in 2014 and had made two significant purchases in suburban Boston and Rhode Island by mid-year 2015. Both bring institutional-grade experience to markets such capital seldom delves into, part of the strategy by the Needham-based company as their put 50 years of experience together in search of office and industrial opportunities throughout New England.
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