The Patch
September 2022
A Northborough Company Will Use the Donald Lynch Boulevard Building For Its Thermal Barrier Products Related to Reusable Batteries.
A long-closed sporting goods store in Marlborough will soon be taken over by a local technology company focused on improving the life of lithium-ion batteries.
Northborough-based Aspen Aerogels will take over the former Sports Authority building at 870 Donald Lynch Boulevard. The company will use the 58,000 square-foot building to work on its thermal barrier products, which are used in batteries that run electric vehicles. Aspen Aerogels anticipates occupancy of the new ATBC in the first quarter of 2023.
The Texas-based real estate company McCord negotiated the lease with Aspen Aerogels, according to a news release from the company. McCord also owns the Donald Lynch Boulevard property.
“Aspen Aerogels’ Advanced Thermal Barrier Center will focus on new product introduction of its industry-leading PyroThin thermal barrier technology and provide engineering support for e-mobility and battery energy storage system customers. Aspen Aerogels’ PyroThin thermal barrier materials are designed to maximize lithium-ion battery packs’ performance while optimizing for safety in electric vehicles,” a McCord news release said.
The Sports Authority in Marlborough closed after the Colorado-based company filed for bankruptcy in 2016. The building has been closed ever since, although the seasonal Spirit Halloween store has used the space in the interim.
By Neal McNamara
*****
About McCord
McCord is redeveloping the property for Aspen Aerogels with architect Ci Design and construction firm BW Kennedy. Representing McCord on the transaction was Phil DeSimone and Andrew Sherman of Kelleher and Sadowsky and representing Aspen Aerogels was Hank Amabile of Beacon Street Realty Advisors and Anthony Caner of Newmark.
The deal with Aspen Aerogels is the latest technology and sciences transaction for McCord’s Boston office, following the recent announcement of food-technology company, Motif Foodworks. McCord is continuing to grow its technology and sciences portfolio in strategic locations throughout the northeast and by developing greenfield opportunities at Generation Park, its 4,200-acre legacy development in Houston, Texas.
McCord is a Houston-based opportunistic real estate company with a longstanding track record of creating substantial value through the acquisition, development, and management of office, industrial, land, single family, and multifamily assets. Since 1973, McCord has acquired or developed over $2 billion in successful projects across the United States
ABOUT ASPEN AEROGELS
Aspen Aerogels is a technology leader in sustainability and electrification solutions. The company’s aerogel technology enables its customers and partners to achieve their own objectives around the global megatrends of resource efficiency, e-mobility and clean energy. Aspen’s PyroThin® products enable solutions to thermal runaway challenges within the electric vehicle (“EV”) market. Aspen Battery Materials, the Company’s carbon aerogel initiative, seeks to increase the performance of lithium-ion battery cells to enable EV manufacturers to extend the driving range and reduce the cost of EVs. Aspen’s Spaceloft® products provide building owners with industry-leading energy efficiency and fire safety. The company’s Cryogel® and Pyrogel® products are valued by the world’s largest energy infrastructure companies. Aspen Aerogels’ strategy is to partner with world-class industry leaders to leverage its Aerogel Technology Platform™ into additional high-value markets. Headquartered in Northborough, Mass., Aspen Aerogels manufactures its products at its East Providence, R.I. facilities.
