Developer Purchases Owens Moving Building for $15 Million

The longtime Owens Movers company has sold its building in the Commercial Triangle area of the city recently to Boston commercial real estate company Oliver Street Capital.

The transaction for 44-48 Garden St. came in at $15 million for the property, which has been in the Owens family for years and leases to the scene shop for the Huntington Theatre Company – among others.

Eddie Owens Jr., chief financial officer of the company, did not return a phone call from the Independent for comment.

Oliver Street Capital was founded in downtown Boston in 2014 by Jonathan Hyde and Jonathan O’Donnell. Their company strategy is “a value based real estate investment manager focused on acquiring and managing high quality commercial and residential real estate investments.”

Neither Hyde nor O’Donnell returned e-mails seeking comment on the purchase of the Owens Business Center.

The property has ongoing leases and it could be possible Oliver Street only intends to take an income investing approach to managing and operating the existing tenants. However, the area is rapidly changing and has seen several long-time industrial and/or commercial uses flip to residential or office. Research and Development is also a target for City Planners in the area, while the old industrial uses are now being discouraged under the 2019 Commercial Triangle Redevelopment Plan.

Mayor Carlo DeMaria said he was encouraged by the sale and others that share his enthusiasm for the area.

“I am excited to see developers sharing my enthusiasm for the future development of the Commercial Triangle Area,” he said. “I appreciate the commitment that long standing businesses such as Owens Movers have made to Everett and certainly hope that these deals are mutually beneficial to all parties. The changes that will be taking place in this part of our City will present new and different opportunities for economic growth. I look forward to these new development opportunities and appreciate the increasing recognition of Everett as a place where residents and businesses can grow and thrive.”

In February, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) honored the Owens family at their regular meeting in a spotlight on vendors who had benefitted from the casino introduction to the state.

Eddie Owens Jr. and Ed Owens both appeared and told the story of their company, which includes Henry Owens Jr. making the rare move in 1927 as a black man to open his own major moving company. Soon, they had become one of the top companies in the Boston area, and Ed Owens expanded the company when he took over to include more commercial accounts such as Raytheon and others.

The company had been located in Everett for decades and recently had found success in working for Encore Boston Harbor, and also in leasing out portions of their facility to organizations like the Huntington Theatre Company.

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