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In 1992, when New Hampshire's leading banks had been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and newspapers were filled with foreclosure notices, most people looked at the real estate market and saw disaster. Shane Brady and Arthur Sullivan saw opportunity.
"There were a lot of opportunities then to pick up properties that were being disposed of by the FDIC and various lenders," said Sullivan, looking back at the time he and Brad joined forces to begin Brady Sullivan Properties, a real estate business that now holds a sizable share of both the commercial and residential real estate markets in Southern New Hampshire.
Brady and Sullivan recently acquired the R.G. Sullivan Cigar Company property on Canal Street in Manchester, to go with a number of other substantial properties they own in and around the city's historic Millyard district, including the former Waumbec Mills property and Jefferson Mill building. The company also owns the local Ramada Inn and recently acquired Hampshire Tower at 1750 Elm St., the former home of New Hampshire Insurance.
Brady and Sullivan holdings also include a number of residential developments in Manchester and other New Hampshire communities, commercial properties in Manchester and Nashua and lakefront condominiums in Laconia. The firm also is looking at real estate opportunities in Florida.
"It's a chance to get out of the cold weather," Sullivan smiled.
The company, meanwhile, has shown an ability to thrive in both the cold and hot real estate climates New Hampshire has known over the past dozen years.
"They're an American success story," Cushman & Wakefield's Tom Farrelly said after brokering the R.G. Sullivan deal. "They started out on the back streets in Manchester, doing deals on 'multis,' and over a long period of time, they've parlayed the wealth they created and have successfully transitioned into larger projects."
Now, said Farrelly, the firm is one of the largest landlords in southern New Hampshire in industrial, office and residential."
Birth of a partnership
Twelve years ago, Sullivan, then 33, and Brady, 23, were trying to find a foothold in a real estate market that was still sliding toward a rocky bottom, Brady's lather David had already folded his real estate business,...