Achievement Award

NEXUM’s efforts to restore a collection of mid-1800’s Victorian buildings it acquired in the early 1990’s was recently acknowledged by the Framingham, MA Historic Commission for the quality of its renovation work.

During the particularly severe New England real estate recession of the early 1990’s, NEXUM assembled a block of mixed-use properties in a historic section of town, purchasing them piecemeal from several from the REO (Real-Estate Owned) portfolios of several banks as defaulted loans at very advantageous prices. The physical condition of the properties ranged from satisfactory to very poor. One building acquired was for less than $18,000, as it was leaning similar to the Tower of Pisa!
 

Before

After

Over the next several years, NEXUM undertook a significant renovation, restoration, and new construction effort.  The resulting mixed-use condominium properties were sold or retained by Nexum as long-term investments.

The project was a win for all involved.  Project investors received an annual Internal Rate of Return of over 30%. Condo buyers have done very well financially; one building whose units originally sold for $84,000.00 now fetch nearly $200,000.00.  The historic “Saxonville” area of town has been revitalized in part due to NEXUM’S past and on-going renovation and rehabilitation efforts.  And that building that was leaning over?…

NEXUM’s construction group determined that this “leaning” condition resulted from one of the building’s exterior walls compressing and bending in a manner that gave the impression that the building was “sinking” on one side.  In consultation with project structural engineers, Nexum inserted a series of steel beams in the wood-frame structure that arrested any further stress on the compressed wall. To this day, the building still leans if one looks closely, but recall that $18,000 initial purchase price of a structurally unsound building? The property is currently fully tenanted and is assessed at over $240,000.