Now Coldwell Banker Commercial: Expansion and hiring of more agents planned
New Hampshire Union Leader
Dateline: Manchester, NH

Tower Realty Group brokered the $25.5 Mil. sale of Hampshire Plaza and Hampshire Plaza Garage which it previously managed together with 1750 Elm Street.  Tower Realty chose after the sale to

part ways with the buildings' new owners, and re-established itself as Coldwell Banker Commercial TR.

The firm's eight associates and brokers have relocated to 150 Dow Street.

Tower Realty brokered the sale of 1750 Elm Street in March 2004 which sold for $15 Mil and 1000 Elm Street in August 2006 which sold for $25.5 Mil, both from affiliates of First Southern Funding LLC, which had brought in Tower Realty to manage and lease the buildings beginning in 1997.

"We knew we wouldn't be there forever because they in fact do their own in-house management and leasing, but they did keep us on for a time until they got familiar with the property and felt comfortable taking over the management and leasing," said Ben Nardi of Coldwell Banker Commercial TR.

The changeover took effect April 1.

"We had a few other smaller buildings under management, but we were always a full-service, commercial real estate brokerage firm," he said.

The group's new affiliation with Coldwell Banker Commercial network will give it the ability to service clients on both a national and a regional basis.

Richard Mulvee will serve as the managing broker. Nardi as commercial acquisition and leasing specialist and Ron Sweezey as facilities consultant and director of property management.

"We have a very good client base of national tenants, and they will be referring any and all customers and clients interested in relocation to New Hampshire," Nardi said. "We will be representing them either to buy a building, investment opportunities or to lease space, either industrial, or manufacturing or office space."

Nardi said Coldwell Banker Commercial TR is planning to expand and hire new agents beginning in June.

"We're going to be doing a very large recruitment effort in the state of New Hampshire," he said.

"They certainly did a good job for us," he said speaking of Tower Realty's management and leasing responsibilities.

Tower Realty Group was formed a decade ago. Yesterday, Nardi recalled some of the milestones the group achieved in managing the former Hampshire Plaza and New Hampshire Insurance buildings, which have been renamed Brady Sullivan Plaza and Brady Sullivan Tower, respectively.

Regarding 1750 Elm St., Nardi said, "We took a facility that housed 1,200 employees for AIG and the building was vacated in its entirety, and we leased out a 212,000-square-foot facility and when we sold it to Brady Sullivan, we were about 90 percent occupied.

"We pride ourselves on client retention," Nardi said, noting the low vacancy rate in the building."

At 1000 Elm St., after Public Service of New Hampshire vacated more than half the building, Nardi said, his partner, Mulvee, put the government GSA deal together." Mulvee secured 53,000 square feet to house government offices and brought in the IRS, federal bankruptcy court and several smaller agencies while the rehabilitation at the Cotton building is going on.

"The leasing activity was very good during our tenure there," Nardi said.

"Acquiring the garage from the city was another milestone," Nardi said.