The Lexvest Group adding new tenants to 190,000 s/f Pepperell Place - including All Things Jeep, 1A Auto and CELLTREAT

Pepperell, MA Where other investors and developers saw the 100 year-old, 190,000 s/f mill building at 20 Mill St. as a dinosaur that had outlived its usefulness, Eric Shapiro and his team at The Lexvest Group envisioned a business mecca with enormous potential set on 10 acres. They dubbed it the Pepperell Place Business Center.

Several tenants, some with unusual or flexible space needs, have leased space here in the heart of Massachusetts’ historic and bucolic Nashoba Valley, near the interchange of Rte. I-495 and state Rte. 2.

Shapiro said, “For many business owners, it’s no longer just location, location, location. They seek building amenities, communication connections (IT infrastructure/fiber optics, high bandwidth Internet), reasonable rent, electric capacity, and room to grow. It’s not easy to find all that under one roof for manufacturing, industrial and office users. But I think we have it all right here.”

When Ana Lockwood, general manager of All Things Jeep, one of the largest providers of gifts, accessories and memorabilia for the Jeep and off-road market, needed to find a home for the company after its relocation from California, after scouting the region, she found the ideal location at Pepperell Place. At 23,000 s/f, it’s one of the bigger leases in the area in recent years.  

Another unique, large space tenant is CELLTREAT, maker of cell culture and liquid handling products, which leased 27,000 s/f. The company’s Rich Happell said, “When we outgrew our previous space at Eric’s building, Phoenix Park in Shirley, it was a natural to go with Lexvest again.”

1A Auto, one of the country’s largest online sellers of auto parts, signed a lease for 17,000 s/f at Pepperell Place and is bringing 20 jobs to town. 

Other tenants choosing Pepperell Place include Bio-Techne, formerly called Bionostics, which makes calibration and quality-control materials for health-care laboratories. When it outgrew its space in Devens, it opened a 10,000 s/f secondary warehouse at Pepperell Place in 2016. Illustrative of the variety of businesses that found ideal space at Pepperell Place are these companies: East Coast Vinyl Decals, a decal, apparel and customized gift business; Fitness Your Weigh, a fitness studio; Arch Fitness, a group fitness center; and Inspire & Design, interior design studio.