NEWS

When asked about sales, commercial Realtor Donald Morash Jr. likes to say, “I like hamburger, but once in a while I get steak.” Recently, he closed on one of the bigger sales of his career, so maybe steak and lobster are in order.

Sale of the 96,000-square-foot H.T. Wall building at 555 Jefferson Boulevard for $5.6 million is not only a benefit to Morash but also Warwick that will gain the home training offices and facilities of the National Elevator Industry Educational Program. The building dates from the 1970s when it was the home of LL Vaughn, a woodworking company.

If all goes as planned, a first-class training facility, drawing people from across the country, will be operational by this time next year, said John O’Donnell, program director for National Elevator. He said the program, supported by funding from the elevator industry, trains about 98.5 percent of elevator instructors nationwide. O’Donnell said 1,000 people complete the two-week program annually that adheres to national standards.

Neither Rhode Island – or for that matter Warwick – are foreign to O’Donnell or the program. He said for the past 20 to 25 years the program has operated out of rental space, usually hotels. He named the Radisson, Sheraton and Crowne. The Jefferson Boulevard site, he said, would have labs, classrooms and offices in addition to storage space for training equipment, giving the program “a professional face.”

Training is not limited to elevators, O’Donnell explains. The program certifies instructors for the maintenance and repair of people movers, escalators and dumbwaiters. O’Donnell points out that safety tops the list of industry concerns, which he said has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation designation of elevators as the safest form of transportation in the country. But few things are fail-safe and, as a precaution, O’Donnell said, the program includes rescue training.

The industry founded the educational program in 1968 with the creation of a trust fund. The fund is funded by industry companies, many of them competitors, to arrive at a uniform high level of training.

Why Warwick?

Location with easy access to Routes 95 and 295 and proximity to Boston and Green Airport all played into the decision. Also, offices in nearby Massachusetts and having based prior training programs out of Warwick played into the decision. It was finding the right building that brought everything together.

Morash, of Abbott Properties, knew of a couple of commercial buildings that initially seemed to fit what National Elevator was looking for. One was 10,000 square feet and the other 2,000 square feet larger.

“Then they said they would really like to see something bigger,” said Morash.

The H.T. Wall building at 555 Jefferson Boulevard had been on the market, but it wasn’t being actively marketed. In fact, the owners had arranged to rent about 40,000 square feet for the storage of boats and cars. Nonetheless, with nothing else comparable for sale in the area, Morash opened communication between Harold Wall and National Elevator. Over the next month and a half the deal and the sale came together.

Unlike residential real estate with a wide selection of homes and locations, Morash points out that many commercial properties are unique. Buyers, he said, need to define their primary objective, whether it is lots of parking, easy access to its markets and vendors or a variety of other factors. Then, he said, it is a matter of determining how best the property can be modified to meet the rest of the desired factors.

Overall, commercial real estate is seeing an “uptick,” although prices aren’t what they were prior to the crash in 2008. He said “prices are firming up.” He is not seeing many out-of-state buyers but rather expansion from within the state. Warwick remains attractive, he said, because of the airport and highway access.

“It’s where people want to be. It is a safe and clean location that is superb for business,” he said.