Needham’s Onyx Partners Acquires You-Do-It Building
May 18, 2026
• The commercial real estate firm intends to preserve the electronics store’s sign on top of the building.
Closing in June 2024, “You-do-it” Electronics ended a 75-year legacy. The family-owned technology store supplied customers with evolving gadgets and old-school tools and machinery before a decrease in foot traffic and shifting shopping behaviors caused them to end a seven-decade run. The business spent nearly 60 of those 75 years in Needham.
The You-do-it building, located at 40 Franklin St., will now be home to Onyx Partners, a Needham commercial real estate investment and development firm who intends to preserve at least part of its predecessor’s history.
Apart from modernizing the interior and exterior, as well as upgrading the building “as a vibrant, modern workplace,” Onyx Partners plans to keep the You-do-it Electronics billboard on the top of the building “as a permanent local landmark,” the company wrote in a press release.
“We are honored to carry on the tradition of this remarkable building and to revitalize a property that has meant so much to Needham and the greater Boston community,” Founding Partner Anton Melchionda wrote in the press release. “Our commitment is to breathe new life into this site for the next 50-plus years while preserving the history that You-Do-It brought to Needham and the Route 128 corridor.”
John Ahigian, whose grandfather — also John Ahigian — founded You-do-it in 1949, said he had hoped the signs would be preserved. He noted the sign on the side is arguably more iconic, though Onyx will remove that one.
Still, Ahigian said he’s pleased to see a piece of his family’s business remain.
“It’s nice for the area. People still use it as a sign to meet up,” he said.
Drivers on Route 128 are likely familiar with the You-do-it sign, which faces the highway and is more visible to those exiting at Needham. Some residents previously remarked that they hoped the signs could be saved after the store closure.
The You-do-it sign on the side of the building — featuring what appear to be electron paths around a nucleus — will be removed, though Onyx Partners “are working to determine the best way to preserve it,” Vice President David Podurgiel wrote in an email. In the design schematic, an Onyx Partners LTD sign appears to replace the You-do-it sign.
The Franklin Street property will become Onyx Partners’ “long-term headquarters,” the press release stated, and the redevelopment reaffirms its “commitment to Needham as both its hometown and a long-term base for its expanding national platform.” They are currently located at 220 Reservoir St.
When the company first purchased the building, Ahigian said he “wasn’t sure what they planned to do.” He said he’d like to find a local sign collector or interested party who may be able to preserve that other sign.
“I told them not to destroy it,” he said of the signs. “We didn’t want to destroy the sign.”
