Parexel Leads I-495 North Office Surge

BILLERICA, MA-A six-figure leasing requirement seems to have shifted focus here, but the change could have a zero sum impact on both the landlord and the Interstate 495 North office market. Whereas biotech services firm Parexel had been targeting 2 Executive Dr. in Chelmsford, sources say the company is now eyeing a deal at 2 Federal St., a 100,000-sf building located in the Fields office complex in Billerica, also part of I-495 North.

Parexel had supposedly been close to striking a lease at 2 Executive Dr. before targeting Billerica, but owner RREEF Funds would still benefit given that the firm also owns 2 Federal St. The situation exemplifies RREEF’s ubiquity in the I-495 office market, with the real estate investment arm of Deutsche Bank owning properties in several communities, including the Crosby Corporate Center in Bedford. The Fields complex was acquired in 2005 as part of a large portfolio purchased from Boston Capital Institutional Advisors, with 2 Federal St.’s price valued at $9.3 million.