Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 7, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 7 R E A L D E A L Real Deal highlights a recent commercial property transaction in Central Massachusetts. Commercial real estate firms wanting to submit information on recent transactions can send it to editorial@wbjournal.com. ADDRESS: Holiday Inn, 265 Lakeside Ave, Marlborough SALE PRICE: $10.9 million SELLER: MF Investment Co. BUYER: Spire Hospitality Spire Hospitality also purchased Holiday Inns in Peabody and Dedham and plans renovations to each hotel. Source: Hotel News Resource — Compiled by Zachary Comeau, WBJ staff writer • 24-hr Emergency Service • Office Cleaning Celebrating 18 years of excellence 997 Millbury St., Suite A Worcester, MA 01607 (866)45.EAGLE www.eaglecleaning.com Proud Winner of Worcester Business Journal's Best of Business Award for 3 Consecutive Years! • Day Porter Service • Carpet and Upholstery Shampoo • Restroom Sanitation • Stripping and Refinishing Floors • Post Construction Cleaning COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL • INSTITUTIONAL Daily/Nightly Janitorial Service BOB A W A R D S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S Congratulations to all of the 2019 Best Of Business Winners Riverdale Mills reduces workforce 25% Over the course of the last nine months, Northbridge wire mesh manu- facturer Riverdale Mills has reduced its workforce by 25 percent via attrition, part of a strategic plan in response to the federal tariffs on steel imports. Riverdale Mills makes coated wire for lobster and other seafood traps and has been hit hard by the 25-percent tariff on steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. CEO James Knott Jr. told e Wall Street Journal the company's steel prices have doubled as it is forced to shell out cash for imported steel because U.S. suppli- ers can't meet the quality. "My foreign competitors are buying steel at half the price I'm paying, and some of them face no tariffs when [exporting] to the U.S," Knott told e Wall Street Journal. In a follow-up statement to WBJ, Riverdale spokeswoman Jane Lanzil- lo said the overall headcount at the company has been reduced to 150 from 200, as the company has postponed hiring for non-critical jobs. Riverdale, though, is still hiring for positions in its manufacturing, engineering and accounting departments. To pick up cost savings elsewhere, Riverdale invested heavily in energy generation and conservation programs. Fitchburg dedevelopment hires executive director e Fitchburg Redevelopment Au- thority, an agency working to support and attract companies to the city, has a new executive director. e authority has hired Meagen Donoghue to take the place of Dan Curley, who died unexpectedly in July. Donoghue was most recently the di- rector of planning and community development in Sudbury. She's held economic devel- opment roles in Worcester, Webster and Chicopee. In Sudbury, Donoghue was instrumental in redeveloping a former Raytheon plant into Meadow Walk, a mixed-use development on Route 20 featuring a Whole Foods Market and other retail- ers, 250 units of luxury apartments and a senior living center. She was involved with the creation of town-wide master plans in Sudbury. At the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority, Donoghue will oversee the development of an updated urban re- newal plan, and advocacy and collabo- ration efforts. Meagen Donoghue, executive director, Fitchburg Redevel- opment Authority Milford glass bottling plant sold for $4.1M e former Ardagh Group glass bot- tling plant in Milford has been sold for $4.1 million to a joint venture of in- vestment firms with plans to redevelop the space for a modern industrial use. New Mill Capital Holdings of New York, Odyssey Real Estate Capital of Las Vegas and Joseph Finn Co. of Bos- ton make up the group that purchased the vacant manufacturing space, forming a legal entity called Milford National LLC. e transaction closed Dec. 13, ac- cording to records with the Worcester County Registry of Deeds. Recorded was a mortgage for nearly $6.9 million on the property, granted to the trio of firms. e 368,000-square-foot plant closed in March due to what Luxem- bourg-based Ardagh Group company said was a decline in demand for glass bottles from the U.S. beer market. W

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