GREENFIELD — Two prominent downtown buildings sold for more than $2 million this week to a Holyoke-based property management company, which plans to make a number of renovations and eventually market vacant space on the upper floors.
The buildings, 278 and 302 Main St., are home to a number of businesses and restaurants, including Clay Oven and Thai Blue Ginger. Longtime owner Paul D. Viens said he’s owned the properties for decades and although the buildings weren’t officially for sale, Holyoke Property Management made several offers to purchase them — the most recent of which was accepted.
The two properties sold for $2.175 million, according to the Franklin County Registry of Deeds. The larger building at 278 Main St. has four storefronts and a number of offices on the upper floors, while the smaller building next door at 302 Main St. has two storefronts.
Timothy Grader, president of Holyoke Property Management, said his company likes to invest in downtown areas because they have such a large impact upon the surrounding community.
“I think Greenfield has a strong downtown, I think it has a pretty stable economy,” Grader said. “It feels like a safe community and it also helps us diversify some of our investments.”
He said his company currently owns property in Holyoke and Amherst.
Grader said he plans to run the buildings as they have been, while making some renovations and upgrades. This fall, he plans to replace windows and repair some of the masonry. The roofs will also need attention in the future, and Grader said he hopes to make cosmetic improvements to the buildings at some point.
“Beyond that, we’re going to take the winter to do a much more strategic plan for building improvements and maintenance,” he said.
The buildings are now home to a number of offices on the upper floors, including the Greater Falls Travel Agency, Franklin Regional Retirement and the Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield, as well as several attorneys’ offices and social service agencies.
“There’s also a fair amount of vacant spaces,” Grader said, adding he hopes to rehabilitate and eventually market those spaces with the help of a local Realtor, who he is still in the process of finding. The building has an ADA-compliant elevator, he said.
Larry Jutres, assistant to the mayor for Economic Development and Marketing, said he’s glad to see the downtown area being identified by out-of-town companies as a place to promote goods and services.
Mayor William Martin, who met with Grader yesterday, said the sale of the properties is a reflection of the confidence outside investors have in Greenfield — particularly the downtown.
Caitlin von Schmidt, Greenfield Business Association coordinator, echoed Martin, saying it’s especially promising to see companies that own real estate in several areas throughout the Pioneer Valley come to Greenfield. She added that newcomers like Grader and his company often bring fresh ideas to the area.
While some have noted that the two buildings sold for well over their assessed value, which is listed on the town assessor’s website as a total value of $1.36 million, Grader said in his experience, assessed values are often less than the market value.
“I’ve seen that in many communities I’ve invested in,” he said, adding the value really comes down to income generated from the properties.
“In looking at buildings in the market now, the capitalization rate was a little bit higher in Greenfield than what you see further down south,” he said.
Viens, who said he worked in the buildings for five decades and owned them for the majority of that time, has no plans to retire.
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