DANVERS — The owner of 75 Sylvan St. touted a green design with her redevelopment of a former light bulb factory into an office complex. However, tough times have meant too few tenants and their greenbacks to keep the bank from stepping in.
Yesterday, the bank exercised its right to take back the landmark former Osram Sylvania plant along Sylvan and Adam streets with a so-called "deed in lieu of foreclosure," said owner Ann Goggin, president of Goggin Company.
The redevelopment of the 280,000-square-foot complex included eco-friendly paints and carpets, waterless urinals, a recycling room, and solar tubes to amplify light from skylights.
Goggin said she put her heart and soul into 75 Sylvan St. "to make it a humane place to go to work ... I think the tenants who are there are very happy, but we could not lease it fast enough."
The deed lists an outstanding principal balance of nearly $22.2 million.
The bank that held the mortgage was NewStar Financial of Darien, Conn. An official for the bank could not be reached for comment.
Last year, Goggin had to change the terms of her loan, and with that change came the need to meet certain leasing milestones. Goggin declined to say what those were. The latest milestone passed yesterday, a date that also coincided with the loan maturing.
"We would have had to get a new loan," she said.
Goggin said others who bought in 2006 and 2007 are saying they regret their purchases, or wished they paid a lower price. Goggin said she overpaid.
She had been getting a steady stream of prospective tenants. However, she also faced increased construction costs and "a general economic Perfect Storm."
"We were on a roll until March when things quieted down," she said.
She had the understanding the complex would be listed for sale.
In the meantime, Cushman and Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm, will manage the property, so tenants should not be affected, she said.
Yesterday's transaction appears to be yet another setback for a complex that dates back to the 1940s and 1950s and has had its share of ups and downs since Osram Sylvania closed it in the late 1990s.
In 2002, the vacant factory was snatched up by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials, which wanted to turn the building into its East Coast headquarters and provide 250 high-tech jobs. F
Then, the tech sector slumped, and though the complex was renovated, it sat empty until the company put it up for sale in January 2006.
In July 2006, Goggin, who had been eyeing the building for some time, bought it. Less than two years later, cars began to appear in the parking lot and Danversbank's back-office operation was the first tenant.
Other companies to locate in the building include Hospice of the North Shore, SwervePoint, Liberty Mutual, VaultLogix, PayChoice, Swimfish Collaborative Technologies and Think First.
Building A, Goggin said, the building on the far left, is empty, but that is set up for one or two major tenants. Buildings B and C, the middle building and far right buildings, respectively, are 60 percent occupied.
The complex even played host to Montserrat College of Art's Artrageous! 23 benefit art auction for the first time earlier this year.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.
Recent history of 75 Sylvan St.
2001 — Osram Sylvania Products sells it to 75 Sylvan St. LLC for nearly $5.7 million.
2002 — Applied Materials buys it for nearly $25.6 million for its East Coast headquarters.
2006 — Applied Materials sells to Ann Goggin for $16.7 million.
2009 — NewStar Financial takes back the property with an outstanding principal balance of nearly $22.2 million.
Source: Essex County Registry of Deeds
