The Keefe Company played a critical role in the transformation of the former GTE property into the Salem State College Central Campus.

The Keefe Company prepared the acquisition and development strategy for the 38 acre site, which includes 400,000 square feet of buildings. We managed all aspects of this development, including the following:

• winning approval of the plan from neighborhood groups and city and state officials
  
  
• negotiating the terms of a purchase and sale agreement with GTE
  
  
• overseeing the appraisal process
  
  
• proposing the creation by the legislature of a public/private agency, the Salem State College Assistance Corporation, to develop the Enterprise Center
  
  
• helping to secure a $4.5 million state appropriation to acquire the facility, a $3 million start-up fund to leverage private commitments to the site, and a $450,000 annual operating budget for the Enterprise Center
  
  
• negotiating a cooperation agreement with the government land bank

The Enterprise Center at the Salem State College Central Campus opened in 1999. The center serves as an incubator for new businesses. Twenty small businesses are currently housed in the center.

Construction began in 2002 on a $15 million project to renovate Building One of the Central Campus for use by the School of Business, the Music Department, Information Technology, and administrative and service offices.

Fund-raising is underway for the next phase of the Central Campus: construction of the Center for the Creative and Performing Arts and the School of Arts and Sciences environmental laboratories.

The Central Campus also includes the Salem State College bookstore, administrative facilities, and parking.

Dr. Nancy D. Harrington, president of Salem State College, says that "Frank Keefe provided us with a creative balance of vision and practical advice which helped us make our vision a reality."