WESTFIELD—The former National Envelope Corporation and Cenveo building and lot on Turnpike Industrial Road has recently been sold according to Westfield’s economic development officer Joe Mitchell, which could help bring additional jobs and tax money back to the city.
According to Mitchell, the approximately 238,000-square foot building and 30-acre lot located at 70 Turnpike Industrial Road were sold on Aug. 19 for approximate $3.7 million in cash and liabilities. The site had sat dormant for about three years prior to the sale, Mitchell said, and the acquisition and development could lead to creating additional tax revenue and jobs within the city, while also potentially helping adjacent properties.
“I’ve been working with this developer for, perhaps, the past eight months while they did their due diligence with the building,” Mitchell said.
The site at 70 Turnpike Industrial Road.
According to Mitchell, the plan for the building and site “is to do some maintenance with the building, infrastructure upgrades with the building and potentially divide it between one and three tenants.”
Mitchell said that these tenants could help provide additional jobs for the community. Previously, Mitchell noted that National Envelope had approximately 220 employees in the Westfield facility.
The site was owned at one point by Cenveo, who purchased National Envelope out of bankruptcy protection in September 2013, but Cenveo closed the facility in June 2014. Before that, National Envelope purchased the site from Old Colony Envelope, with the latter company having roots in Westfield that dated back to the 1920s, according to Mitchell.
In addition, Mitchell said that attempts are now being made to get tenants into the property and Mitchell said that he himself has given tours of the facility to potential tenants.
“Their first order of business is to get people in there. They’re aggressively trying to get one to three tenants in there,” he said.
“Some are manufacturing, some are logistics—a bunch of different entities looking at the whole thing or parts of the building.”
And as the tenants come and investments are made into the building, Mitchell said the value increases and the city sees an increase in tax revenue from the property.
Previously, Mitchell said that the value of the building during the time of National Envelope was $7 million. Since it has been vacant though, the value has dropped.
“Over the past three years, because it’s been empty and the building’s been aging, it’s gone down to about $5.1 million,” he said.
“When a building sits empty it drops,” Mitchell said regarding the value, “when there’s an active, productive business inside a building it causes value to go up.”
All this can also impact nearby properties, like a nearby industrial park development that is being spearheaded by the city. The 66-acre piece of land between Cabot Road and Turnpike Industrial Road is adjacent to the Turnpike Industrial Road property, and Mitchell said that the potential development of the latter property could positively impact the former.
