"This wouldn't be a big industrial deal in the suburbs, but it is huge for Boston," says J.P. Plunkett, a senior director at Cushman & Wakefield who represented the tenant along with C&W colleague James Brady. "It's great for [Boston] to be able to add some blue collar jobs," Plunkett tells GlobeSt.com. The Hub's so-called working port has been shrinking for decades, and that trend has become even more acute as the gentrification of the Seaport District continues. Millions of square feet of office, retail, hotel and residential space is slated to be built on docks that once served as the industrial gateway to Massachusetts.

According to first quarter figures compiled by C&W, the inner Boston industrial loop has just 4.6 million sf of the state's 62.9 million of industrial inventory. The space, which is 8.7% vacant, does command a superior per square foot price of $20.56, double the overall average of $10.09 per sf. Plunkett did not divulge the lease rate in the Black Falcon lease to Boston Buffalo Express, but one company document showed asking rents in the building running from $13.25 per sf up to $28.50 per sf.

Despite the higher rate, 88 Black Falcon Ave. has just 38,000 sf of the 200,000-sf industrial space remaining, Plunkett says, who reports encouraging activity on the unused space. Other industrial tenants in the building are EGL Logistics and Wall USA. Constructed in 1999 and opening in 2000, 88 Black Falcon Ave. has two floors of office space above the first level of industrial space. Headquartered in San Francisco, AMB is involved in nine investments in Massachusetts encompassing more than five million sf of space. Perishable Management represented Boston Buffalo Express.