Lee Marden made owning an industrial park into a family business. He worked with tenants like a mentor, while living in an apartment upstairs with his wife, Terry, and his cat Charlie.
When he invited everyone to a party to celebrate 45 years of being on Hall Street, everyone showed up.
The reason for the balloons and festivities turned out to be the announcement of new owners for the South Concord park that served as a small business incubator in the city for more than 40 years.
“After 45 years, I thought, you know, we should probably have a little party to celebrate the birthday,” Marden said. “So here we are.”
The complex houses more than 40 businesses, ranging from a brewery, distillery, barbecue restaurant, baker, and candy maker — among others that don’t make things you can eat or drink, including an Anglican church.
Northwood Capital, a private real estate investment firm based in Concord and Wellesley, Mass., said Tuesday it has bought the Concord Business Center at 124-134 Hall Street from Marden, who has owned and developed it since 1979. All existing leases will continue, said Richard Smith, one of two principals of the firm.
“It’s an eclectic mix, that’s what makes it such a nice and interesting community,” he said of the center. “It’s very much part of the community, with a good mix of tenants, well-established.”
Smith declined to give the selling price.
The complex has five buildings totaling about 185,000 square feet that were built between 1982 and 2019. It is an example of what is known in the industry as a small-bay industrial property, basically an apartment building for retail and light-industrial companies. Unlike consumer-oriented strip malls, these sites often don’t face the street and are not in high-profile downtown areas. As a result, they may get overlooked by the public, yet can house a large portion of a community’s businesses with less expensive rents.
Concord Business Center was developed by Marden, who has owned and managed it for almost five decades.
“Lee’s stewardship has created an enduring foundation for this property,” said Jeremy Duprey, the other principal at Northwood Capital. He is no relation to Concord developer Steve Duprey.
Among its most prolific tenants are Litherman’s Limited Brewery, Aissa Sweets, Granite State Candy Shoppe, 603 Bar-B-Q and Steadfast Spirits Distilling.
Charles Lundergan has been a tenant for the past eight years and has invested more in the complex than most as the owner of Steadfast Spirits and Litherman’s Limited.
He said he views Marden as more than a landlord. He sees him as a friend and a mentor and trusts his decision to sell.
“He built this place, I’m sure he wouldn’t leave it to chance,” Lundergan said. ” I’m not really concerned, I’m just more excited to see how it plays out and see what lies down the road for all of us.”
Northwood Capital recently bought and is redeveloping a retail complex at 80 South Main St., the location of the former Aubuchon hardware store just north of the Water Street cutoff. Smith said Concord Business Center is Northwood Capital’s fourth acquisition in New Hampshire and among several properties that it owns throughout New England.
As for Concord Business Center, Smith said, the new owners plan to manage it with a steady hand.
“There’s going to be no revolution, only evolution,” he said. “We’ll update the look and feel of the place, cosmetic stuff, to get ahead of any long-lead maintenance ideas in the space.”
