Former Marlboro Airport offers industrial space. One building was recently sold

MARLBOROUGH — A newly constructed building on the site of the former Marlboro Airport has been sold for $1.25 million, according to a press release from the seller, Southborough-based Capital Group Properties.

The 5,000-square-foot industrial building is the third to be sold in what's now Airport Industrial Park since the property was purchased by CGP in 2018. The building was sold to a private buyer. The buildings on the property, at 685 Farm Road, are zoned for commercial and industrial uses.

CGP purchased the former airport in December 2018 for $2.25 million, with the intent to build about 20 buildings as part of a new industrial park. The company originally planned to sell parcels of land, then allow the buyers to construct their own buildings. But shortly after the first property — the former airplane hanger — was sold, CGP determined it would be simpler to perform the construction itself, then sell to other entities.

"It became harder to control that process, and it was easier to just build the buildings ourselves and then sell," said Brendan Carroll, an associate with Capital Group Properties. "It became clearer that more people just wanted to buy the property. People liked a new, first-class development developed by a first-class developer."

The property most recently sold is one of the site's smaller structures — available buildings range from 5,000 to about 20,000 square feet. There are two additional 5,000-square foot buildings that are under construction, and eight similarly sized buildings are in development, according to CGP.

"Industrial flex space of this size is hard to find, it is a tight market," Carroll said. "There is a strong demand for these kinds of properties. We also hear from a lot of people that they just don't want to lease anymore, they just want to own the space."

Carroll said that in other communities, including Waltham and Watertown, industrial users are seeing their spaces bought by developers and converted to larger-scale projects, like lab space. Those seeking smaller, flexible space can find it at the former Marlboro Airport.

"The way the lab market is currently, developers are coming in and buying up spaces and turning them into that lab space," Carroll said. "We have a wide variety of uses in light industrial spaces; they can be office space, room for biotech, landscaping companies or contractors. Eventually, we might have 20 different businesses in this park."

Marlboro Airport opened in 1922 and was the oldest continuously operating commercial airfield in Massachusetts when it closed in 2018.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Building on former Marlboro Airport site sells for $1.25 million