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By Christine Graf
Rochester-based Flaum Management Co. Inc has purchased the former State Farm Operations Center located off Northway Exit 12 in Saratoga County.
The building sat empty for approximately two years before being auctioned off in March by Ten-X Commercial, an online real estate platform.
The two-story, 124,171-square-foot building was purchased by John Senese, owner of Calco Construction in Farmington, Con., for $1.36 million, according to the Flaum.
After purchasing the property, Senese sold it to Flaum Management Co. for $2 million.
Flaum Management owns office, retail, and industrial properties throughout the state, including two properties in the Capital Region. Last year, the company purchased Latham Farms in a joint venture deal with Boston-based the Davis Companies. The 89-acre retail center is located just off the Northway in Latham.
The company also owns the 165,000-square-foot Queensbury Plaza on Upper Glen Street in Queensbury.
Chief Operating Officer Loren Flaum said his company was excited to add another Capital Region property to its extensive real estate portfolio.
“We love the Capital Region and the job growth and the economy,” said Flaum. “When this property came to market, we really liked it. We have a long track record of turning around vacant buildings and leasing them out in Upstate New York, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany.
“We just loved the bones of the building, the location, and what’s going on in Malta with the hospital, the new YMCA, and GlobalFoundries. We are really bullish on Saratoga County.”
The building sits on 25 acres and has 485 parking spots. It has the largest floor plates (the amount of leasable square footage on an individual floor) in the Albany region also has two 54-person training rooms, according to the company.
Flaum said it is likely that the building, now called Malta Grove, will have multiple tenants. Peter Struzzi from Pyramid Brokerage Co./Cushman & Wakefield in Latham, is leasing the building on behalf of Flaum Management.
Although the company is using an outside leasing agent, they are very hands-on when it comes to managing and maintaining their properties, said Flaum.
“We do all of our own management and maintenance and have an on-the-ground facilities team in Albany for Latham and Queensbury,” said Flaum. “We are very tenant focused and community focused and economic development focused. We really look forward to becoming part of the Saratoga County and Malta community.
“We’re open for business and ready to be extremely competitive. We will be below the market with our lease rates because we made such a good purchase on the building. We want to reinvigorate the building and bring life to it, and we will do renovations based on tenants’ needs.”
Members of the Flaum team take an active role in the properties they manage. Future tenants of Malta Grove can expect regular visits from them.
“We try to be there a few times a month,” said Flaum. “We like to show our face and be a part of the community. We don’t want to be an absentee landlord or absentee community partner. Everywhere we own property, we are very big into the community philanthropically and from an economic development perspective. That’s very important to us. ”