BOCA RATON, Fla. — The former IBM campus where the company developed its first personal computer has been acquired by Related Ross, which plans to continue operating the property as an office and technology campus while adding retail, restaurants and other amenities over time.
Newmark announced Sept. 18 that it arranged financing with Ares for Related Ross’ acquisition of the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, known as BRiC. The 124-acre property at 5000 T-Rex Avenue contains two office buildings totaling about 1.7 million square feet.
The campus was originally developed by IBM as its North American research and development campus. It is recognized as the birthplace of IBM’s first personal computer and remains one of Boca Raton’s largest employment centers.
BRiC currently includes two cafés, an 800-seat presentation hall, multiple event spaces and shuttle service to the Boca Raton Tri-Rail station. The property is near Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Airport and two Interstate 95 interchanges.
Related Ross said it will maintain the property’s office and technology uses while pursuing a long-term plan that includes retail, restaurants and additional amenities. The acquisition marks Related Ross’ entry into Boca Raton and expands its presence in Palm Beach County.
Newmark’s Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani and John Caraviello arranged the financing, working with Josh King. Ares provided the financing.
“BRiC represents a generationally significant development opportunity, combining an extraordinary legacy, substantial scale and a strategic South Florida location,” Scribani, Newmark’s vice chairman, said in a press release.
The property was acquired by Related Ross as the company expands its South Florida real estate holdings.
The plant opened there in 1967, when Thomas John Watson Jr., then Chairman , announced that IBM would open build in Boca Raton its System/360 Model 20 midsized computer.
While it was a giant innovation hub for IBM, what made it famous was the development of the IBM PC model 5150, which was invented and launched at the Boca Raton IBM campus on August 12, 1981. There were other great innovations there.
In August 1981, IBM unveiled the personal computer that put Boca Raton on the tech map. Built at the company’s Boca campus, the project began as a secret effort code-named “Acorn,” with a small team led first by William Lowe and then by Philip “Don” Estridge. They had one year to bring it to market.
Working with unusual autonomy for IBM, the team skipped in-house development and assembled the machine from outside suppliers, an “open architecture” approach that also let others build add-on components. Microsoft supplied the operating system and BASIC, Intel the 8088 processor, Tandon the disk drive, Zenith the power supplies, SCI Systems the circuit boards, and Epson the printer.
IBM also broke with tradition by selling the machine through outside retailers, including Sears, Roebuck and Company and ComputerLand. The result became the standard for the PC industry.
