In an age of corporate, institutional developers, it is rare and fortunate to find a small, family-owned company such as WRT Management. WRT is committed to passing on its considerable knowledge to each new generation, a company committed to remaining involved with, and adding value to, the properties it obtains, purchases and manages. Perhaps that is why WRT Management Corporation has successfully mastered the complexities of the real estate market for more than 60 years, developing and managing its properties to the benefit of its tenants, its partners and the communities in which it operates.
Facts
- Property under ownership and management: 4 million+ square feet
- Ownership: All property owned predominantly by WRT principals
- Portfolio mix: Industrial, office retail, residential, research and development
- Area of specialization: Older, industrial properties
- Primary financial relationships: Commerce Bank, Prudential Insurance, Protective Life Insurance, Ameris Bank
- Background: Experienced in all phases of acquisition, permitting, development, construction and management
- Goal: Consistently provide growth opportunities for investors, partners and tenants
Our Approach:
Personal Involvement: WRT is a hands-on operation, The company chooses to work on only a select few properties in order to control all aspects of a project from site development to tenant selection. The principals routinely invest their own money in their projects, selling few of the properties they develop. They choose instead to manage them on an ongoing basis and work with tenants to meet their changing needs.
These real estate professionals remain active in the business, applying their experience to company properties on a daily basis. WRT creates value in all if its endeavors. Many of its properties were neglected, ignored or dismissed be other as too difficult to tackle. WRT takes great pride in bringing these buildings and their surrounding communities back to life.
Revitalization:
The Shop at Whitinsville: Built in 1847 as the Whitin Machine Works, this factory was the largest pre-World War II manufacturer of textile machinery. When the company ceased operation, the buildings were left vacant. WRT recognized the properties potential and has rebuilt it completely; installing new systems, creating vastly improved access and loading, and addressing the environmental issues left over from its long life as an industrial property. This is a project that also rebuilt a town. The restoration of the bell tower and clock is symbolic of the revitalization of the community; the Shop at Whitinsville has brought 2,500 jobs, new tax revenues and new spirit to this Southeastern Massachusetts town.
- 1.4 million square feet
- Acquired 1984
- 22 tenants, including four Fortune 500 companies
- 98% occupied
- Restoration, renovation, environmental clean-up
Services:
A Wide Range of Skills and Services: In 60 years of developing and managing properties, there is little that WRT has not seen. This experience, coupled with a hands-on policy of doing work in house, assures you that WRT has the ability to plan and execute any project. We are experienced in all phases of due diligence and with financing mechanisms. We are adept in the creative use of space and skilled in building it quickly and cost-effectively. We understand zoning, environmental and building code issues and can handle new construction as easily as renovation. Land development, infrastructure improvement and tenant fit-out are all areas of expertise.
WRT’s expertise extends to the ongoing management of properties once development is complete. We operate a full-service property management company that oversees the daily affairs of more than four million square feet of real estate. Lease negotiations, capitalization and financing and tenant relations are strengths of the WRT organization. Details of all property management complexities are overseen by WRT principals.
Development:
Arcade Realty: Nobody thought this non-contaminated landfill could ever be built upon. WRT was more optimistic. Using a deep-soil densification vibroprobe procedure, WRT compressed and strengthened the underlying soil, then constructed a concrete slab and structural steel addition to the adjacent building to serve as a central distribution center for our existing tenant. If this tenant, or the silk screening operation that is also housed here, needs to expand further, WRT will be ready. We have a permit to build an additional 30,000-40,000 square feet and have purchased over 200 acres of industrial-zoned land in the Whitinsville area.
- 245,000 square feet
- Acquired in 1990
- Comprehensive renovation and new construction
- Multi-tenanted
- 100% occupied
- Specialized construction techniques, expansion potential
Versatile:
- Site Identification and Evaluation
- Permitting and Approvals
- Investment Evaluation
- Infrastructure Development
- Architectural, Engineering and Landscape Planning
- Renovation and New Construction
- Customized Tenant Fit-out
- Preservation and Restoration
- Financing
- Property Management
- Land Development
