"If you just want office space, you can go to 40 of them and they are all the same," Rich McClintock, president of Westfield tells GlobeSt.com. "But this stands apart."
Westfield describes it as a "Goburb," which McClintock says combines the energy of an urban setting in the laid-back suburban environment. And because of the proximity of light rail, many residents and employees at Lincoln Station won't even need a car.
"Right now, if you want to buy a sandwich or get a beer, you have to get into your car," McClintock says. "That is all changing. And I think CEOs in the future will be more socially responsible. They'll see that it benefits them to not have all of their employees driving to work."
McClintock thinks tenants will pay a premium for a new office building that is served by light rail. Since Katrina, he notes, construction costs have skyrocketed, making it harder to justify construction. However, he tells GlobeSt.com that their pro forma for the first building in the Lincoln Station at $14 to $16 per sf, net, which is slightly below market.
The first building will be a "signature" class A office building with 150,000 sf. "We're talking to possible institutional partners right now," McClintock tells GlobeSt.com "In exchange for a little more risk upfront, they have the opportunity for greater upside as an equity partner. We've already talked to several who are interested."
The first phase also will include a retail village of 30,000 sf; a smaller office building of 30,000 sf; and 80 residential units, priced from about $200 per sf to $450 per sf. Frederick Ross will market the development.
Eventually the entire development could have three million sf of commercial space and 1,500 residential units. But McClintock says they will react to market demands. If the market wants more residential, they will over-weight it to residential, and if it wants more office, it will over-weight the office portion, he says. Currently, he estimates it ultimately will have 800,000 sf to one million sf of commercial space and perhaps 800 for-sale and rental residential units.
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