Cordage Park: Two brothers’ vision is coming into stark focus
by Glenn RittJoe and Lou Jannetty’s latest endeavor seems to have all the elements for success – the 3-quarter-mile waterfront, the Old Colony train station, the surrounding infrastructure, Plymouth’s rapidly changing demographics and economy.
But achieving their dream is poised even more upon the brothers’ collective vision, stamina and imagination, all built on a closely knit family’s platform of trust and rapport.
Only a few years ago, Lou led a marketing company whose clients included the biggest video game producers in the world. Joe was a New York City real estate developer and manager.
Today, they own Cordage Park, weaving together the dilapidated remains of the nation’s largest 19th-century rope factory, the failed efforts of a recent retail mall and the abandoned home of Wal-Mart’s original Plymouth location into a Quixotic vision that is steadily – some would say surprisingly – coming into stark focus.
“Ultimately, you must believe in your vision,” said Joe. “Have we ever tried to calculate the rewards of our risk? Honestly, the project is too big for that. Variables can change on a dime. All you can do is put your head down, trudge along and believe deep in your heart that it will happen. Eventually, you will get all the government approvals, the tenants will come and others will all buy into the vision.”
Commercial tenants
Two of the buildings they purchased have been renovated from failed retail outlets to a 350,000-square-foot sophisticated commerce center that is almost fully occupied, home to some 70 businesses.
The most significant tenant may be Jordan Hospital, which rented 10,000 square feet and immediately attracted enough similar tenants to forge an entire health-care and medical wing for Cordage Commerce Center.
A Lighthouse Fitness center, Roo Bar restaurant, two colleges, technology companies like software developer F.W. Davison and the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce weave a highly diversified tenant population that reflects the county’s own growth as a home for health care, education and technology.
Chapter 40R
The ability to leverage Chapter 40R (see separate story) allows JD Cordage LLC, the parent company, to not only open up the shoreline, but also revitalize the still-abandoned parts of the industrial complex along the waterfront into a community with up to 675 residential units, more retail and office space, a new boardwalk, a marina and a restaurant on the pier accommodating outdoor dining.
About 200 residential units will overlook the harbor just south of the pier, on the site where the largest assembly mill in the factory complex now stands. Another new residential building would overlook the marina.
Working with the Boston-based architectural firm Cubellis – the same company that designed Colony Place – the Jannettys also envision a widened landscape-divided boulevard and an entry road from Court Street, running through village retail and past the MBTA stop to the pier and what they envision as 300 slips for boats.
Wal-Mart
Despite the growing success of their commerce center and approvals for residential development, there still was a Wal-Mart standing smack in the middle of the Jannetty’s vision.
“Having a Wal-Mart smack in front posed a big challenge,” said Joe. “How do you sell that kind of residential product behind a Wal-Mart?”
When the brothers purchased Cordage Park seven years ago, they anticipated that the retailer would remain a fixture. “So when Wal-Mart decided to move to the Route 44 and Route 3 interchange, it did provide us with our next big opportunity,” he said.
It wasn’t a slam-dunk, however – another retailer was also bidding for the property. The Jannettys eventually won for about $4.5 million, opening up plans to knock down the store and use the cleared space and parking lot for stores with apartments above them.
A seven-year odyssey
At times, the brothers have to stop and catch their breath. Before 2000, Lou, now 55, had no idea he would be immersed in the revitalization of Cordage Park. After a stint with Johnson & Johnson in sales and marketing, he moved to California to work with Activision at the infancy of the video game revolution.
Eventually, he started his own marketing company, representing leading publishers that developed games for Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, including when it introduced its revolutionary PlayStation technology.
During that time, he moved to Duxbury. “I frequently steered my boat by the abandoned Cordage factory,” recalled Lou. “I remember saying to myself, ‘Someday someone will do something with this. That was 20 years ago, and never in my wildest imagination did I imagine that I would be personally involved.”
“Joe recognized the huge potential,” said Lou. “But the site also presented its own set of daunting issues. It was highly industrialized and abandoned for 50 years.”
Lou and Joe, with a third partner, decided to take the plunge themselves, with Joe negotiating an approximately $5 million purchase. They had to pay cash because no lender was willing to come forward.
Today, that may sound like a steal, but back then, it was a true reach. Textron was spending millions annually just to finance upkeep of the site, recalled Joe.
“Our original investment was just the ante,” said Joe. As soon as we closed, we had to move as fast as possible to create a vision, turn it around and stabilize the property so not to lose tons of money every year.”
While still immersed in his New York City-based real estate company, Joe began taking Amtrak’s Accela Express back and forth to Plymouth. “Soon, it became too much of an effort, and our family decided to move to Duxbury,” he said.
Joe continues to operate his wide-ranging development company, Janco, from Cordage Park. His portfolio includes properties in New York City, Hartford, Connecticut and Colorado.
Risk versus reward
As soon as the brothers owned the Cordage property, they knew they had to reinvent the site.
“We did not want to try again with retail,” said Joe. “There was too much development going on off of Route 3. Larger box stores were gravitating to Route 44. We figured office would work because of our proximity to the water.”
It took a while to convince others of their vision. “All prospective tenants saw was an empty mall. Over time, with major investments – far more than the original purchase price – and a changing look and feel, tenants came.”
A key to the brothers’ success was meeting Deborah Meyers, who also lives in Duxbury and is a leasing agent for Braintree-based Paramount Partners.
“Deb was instrumental in leasing out the commerce center,” said Joe. “She was knowledgeable about the property and we knew it would require a more local leasing firm not from Boston.
“From our experience, we felt a Boston firm would treat the property as a ‘Z’ priority on a list from A to Z,” he said. We needed someone who would treat us as an ‘A’ priority.”
Boston firms tried to lease Cordage Park during Textron’ ownership, added Joe. “We could not even get brokers from Boston to come down here and look at the property – granted, Plymouth was a different place five or six years ago in terms of perception.
“We did catch a rising tide with real estate market. But it has more to do with this unique space. We had an alternative to 8-foot drop ceilings and fluorescent lights,” he noted.
Little by little, Meyers attracted tenants, spurning smaller commitments for those 5,000 square feet and above. “Overall, we have been really fortunate,” said Joe. “Basically, our tenants are small businesses. They treat rent meaningfully.”
“When I came on the scene, there was only one tenant left in the retail mall. The parking lot was empty. Everything was in disrepair. But I saw the Jannettys’ vision,” said Meyers. “It was easy to dream with them. And it has been a great opportunity for Paramount and for me, personally.”
As Jordan Hospital arrived, followed by the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, the team’s confidence grew.
“Deb stuck with it,” said Lou. “She was able to articulate our vision, presentation after presentation.”
Looking back, the brothers are quick to praise the confidence of the local North Plymouth community and town officials for consistently growing support.
Equally impressive, they said, is the growth of Plymouth’s infrastructure over the last six years.
“Cordage Park is benefiting from the rapidly changing image of Plymouth itself,” said Joe. With rail coming here, with The Pinehills, retail development from Exits 5 to 7 on Route 3, it all adds up to convince companies that Plymouth is a viable alternative to the more expensive Boston metropolitan area.
“Collectively, we are becoming an economic driver for the area. It is turning people’s thinking around. The big-box stores are sages,” said Joe. “The arrival of hotels tells a story. People are finally putting us on the radar.
“When we bought Cordage Park, we could not get financing. Those in Boston asked us, ‘Why are you doing this?’”
“Now it is totally different. We are the fastest-growing county in the commonwealth. A lot of things are happening at the right time.”
Published in Plymouth County Business January 2008
Glenn Ritt Glenn Ritt is editor and co-publisher of Cape Business Publishing LLC. He is the former publisher of Cape Cod Community Newspapers and editor of The Bergen Record in New Jersey. 
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