Who Are We?

Acme Properties actually began not as Acme Properties at all, but as Acme Wholesale 1991. After graduating UMass Amherst, with a degree in Finance in 1985, Michael Rabb had wanted to be a stock broker, but was unable to secure such a position, so he accepted a job making sandwiches at a Deli in Coolidge Corner (Jaffe’s Pick a Chick) for the minimum wage of $3.35/ hr. In two months he moved on to Rent A Center (Moody St, Waltham) and two months later to Growth Mortgage Company (Chestnut Hill) before finally being offered the underwhelming position of cold caller at Lehman Brothers, Federal St, Boston in January 1986. In September of that year he passed the series six exam and became a licensed stock broker where he went on immediately to fail wildly by Christmas, but the excruciating Lehman Brothers experience became a priceless asset. When he accepted a job as a commodities trader in Sharon, MA in January 1987 for $1500/mo he was off to the races. What had been a sleepy one man operation was suddenly a ten man operation by 1988. Financial success was his but lightening growth brought ongoing organizational growing pain so, In March 1991, he chose to forgo financial security and to strike out on his own. When he went to open a commercial bank account in March 1991 for his commodities trading business the bank asked the name of the business. It was something he had not considered and in that moment and by some vagary he offered the name of Acme Wholesale. So it was, for 25 years, quite a successful run based out of first Newton and then Needham, MA. Finally, in March 2016, exactly 25 years from its inception it was time to transition from the lifestyle of intensity and stress that invariably characterizes commodities trading and having dabbled in real estate over the years Acme Wholesale transitioned to Acme Properties.

Our first venture was on Madison Avenue, not in Manhattan but in Dedham, MA, and it was a success, though a smaller project it was. We have been buying, improving, building, selling and holding real estate ever since. We Our latest project, a large single family residence in Wellesley, MA is expected to be completed 2/1/2014