Two contiguous properties formally owned by the Manchester Athletic Club, highlighted in orange, are now owned by Danvers-based Cell Signaling Technology.
On Thursday, Cell Signaling Technology, the Danvers-based biotechnology company, closed on a deal to purchase a 50-acre stretch of land that houses the Manchester Athletic Club, extensive woodlands, and an abandoned quarry in Manchester’s Limited Commercial District (LCD) where it plans to build a corporate campus.
Through two subsidiaries, Cell Signaling purchased two parcels of land along Rte. 128 on Atwater Avenue off upper School Street. Together, the properties sold for a total of $17.5 million, according to the Essex Registry of Deeds.
The first is a 40-acre piece of largely woodlands and old quarry land abutting Cape Ann Storage and the Trustees of Reservation lands. The second parcel—10 acres—includes the 3,000-member Manchester Athletic Club and its nationally acclaimed MAC Tennis Academy. In a statement Tuesday, Cell Signaling said the sale was subject to a confidentiality agreement, but after receiving word from the Manchester Athletic Club (MAC), it could confirm that the MAC facility has been leased back to the existing MAC management team.
The acquisition, it said, includes only the land and buildings, not the MAC health and fitness operation.
"CST considers the MAC to be an important member of the Manchester community," according to the statement. "All questions regarding the MAC and its operations should be referred to the MAC management team."
The purchase had been in the works for months. Starting last year, Cell Signaling began quietly approaching town boards to share its plan to build a corporate campus behind the MAC site and asked that a critical change be made to the town’s zoning bylaw to add “laboratory use” as an approved use in the LCD. Without the addition, the deal could not happen. And to make that change, it needed approval by voters at Town Meeting.
Relevant boards—notably the Planning Board and the Select Board—heard from Cell Signaling’s representatives. Particularly important was the Planning Board, which is in the process of “recodifying” the town bylaw (read: editing and streamlining regulations).
One by one, support came in. And by April’s Annual Town Meeting, lab use was added to the bylaw overwhelmingly by voters.
The company said, "Closing on the property last week marks a major milestone. CST is actively assembling a design team and looks forward to collaborative engagement with the Boards and Committees of the community at the appropriate time."
Founded in 1999, Cell Signaling employs over 500 people worldwide.
Additional information about CST’s vision for the property can be found at www.cstoldquarry.com.
