In Tewksbury, Winphoria Networks Inc. subleased 52,000 sf from Datex-Ohmeda. Paceline Systems Corp. subleased 17,138 sf from OSDN in Acton and Conexant Systems Inc. leased 24,627 sf here for five years.
Despite this recent flurry of activity, Curt Oberg, a senior vice president at Boston-based Spaulding & Slye Colliers International, who was involved in the Paceline and Conexant deals, insists that the market here is still slow. "The market isn't picking up," he tells GlobeSt.com. "These were deals that were in the pipeline."
The year-old Winphoria needed room to expand at the same time that Datex-Ohmeda needed to get rid of its space on 2 Highwood Dr. Reportedly, Winphoria took the lease's remaining 18 months and added on an additional three and a half years as a direct lease with the landlord, ELV Associates Inc.
According to Oberg, who specializes in the northern part of the suburban market here, CA-based Conexant Systems Inc. signed a lease for 200 Lowder here from Meditech in the low $30s per sf. Paceline Systems Corp. sublet space at 50 Nagog Park from Open Source Development Network for three years at a rate in the low $20s per sf. The rates, says Oberg, are reflective of the recent market adjustments.
"A lot of deals have died," he points out, emphasizing that the fact that these deals went through is a good sign. "But I wouldn't be overly optimistic. We're in a flat period. I do think we'll see more space and availability increase." It's not a tenant's market yet, maintains Oberg, but the market is slowly adjusting to more favorable conditions for tenants.
While vacancy rates haven't changed much, Oberg notes that availability rates have increased mostly due to sublease space. "Sublease rates have fallen 10% to 15% in recent months," he says. "I have a feeling it's going to stay a sublease market for a while."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
